LONDON—European air travel is finally returning, thanks to a barrage of cheap tickets from discount carriers and the relatively smooth rollout of a continentwide vaccination-certification system.
Until just recently, U.S. and China domestic air-travel markets have been booming, with passengers taking advantage of what had been a fall in Covid-19 cases in both places. In the U.S., a robust vaccination drive also boosted traveler confidence.
Intra-continental travel in Europe, though, has remained stuck far below pre-2019 levels, largely because the market is so heavily dependent on cross-border flights. Those have been curtailed by government restrictions meant to contain the virus, including quarantine requirements, testing and vaccinations.
Now, the fast-spreading Covid-19 Delta variant has started to dent U.S. and China travel, and Europe has become an aviation industry bright spot—at least for now.
Last week, intra-European flights were down 27% compared with the same week in 2019, according to an analysis by aviation consulting firm Cirium. That is the smallest gap recorded since March 2020, when airlines started curtailing service amid the first global wave of Covid-19 infections.
