Addendum
Battle to overcome passenger vaccine hesitancy
October 1st 2021
Convincing travellers to return to the skies as the world recovers from COVID-19 may be easier in some countries than others, a recent survey charting passenger behavior has shown. Read More »
Although attitudes have changed in the past year, with more than half of those surveyed in the Asia-Pacific (51%) saying they would be confident to fly within the next six months compared with 40% in 2020, these sentiments are not universal.
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Inmarsat’s Passenger Confidence Tracker, the largest global survey of aviation passenger behaviour since the pandemic began, has compiled responses from 10,000 airline passengers globally, including 4,500 from the Asia-Pacific (APAC). The results revealed Singapore (37%), South Korea (36%) and Japan (30%) have the greatest hesitancy to travel. The largest proportion of these respondents said either they would wait more than a year to fly or until COVID-19 disappeared before taking their next flights.
There also is a generational difference when it comes to preparedness to board a plane. Older respondents were less inclined to fly in the next six months and most would want to wait longer. Younger respondents are keener to return to the air, but are more likely to travel with trusted airlines.
Interestingly, when it comes to travel confidence, 91% of passengers in the Asia-Pacific acknowledged the pandemic changed their long-term travel habits. Many will journey closer to home, with 36% of respondents revealing they intend to travel to less faraway destinations.
One unequivocal result of the pandemic is heightened passenger scrutiny of the health precautions and safety measures of airlines. When questioned about this issue, survey respondents were unified in their attitude to vaccine passports. Almost five in ten APAC passengers (46%) believe COVID-19 vaccine passports are a good idea. Half of all respondents felt strongly enough about this issue to have them implemented immediately. Another 34% agreed they are a good idea but said they should only be introduced after everyone has been offered a vaccine.
Australia stands out as being the most opposed to the idea of digital health documents, with just 51% thinking they are a good idea. They are primarily concerned about the use of personal data (43%), a sentiment also shared by approximately a quarter of respondents in China.
Approximately 58% of those surveyed identified pre-flight COVID-19 testing as the most effective personal safety measure for air passenger travel confidence. Notably, 70% also agreed cabin cleanness is the most important factor in easing fear of flying in the pandemic era.
Most APAC passengers also want adoption of consistent worldwide safety standards (63%) and uniform hygiene practices (62%), the position of the International Air Transport Association since the pandemic began.
Inmarsat Aviation president, Philip Balaam, said one of the key take outs from this year’s survey is the number of people who have taken a flight since the pandemic’s outbreak has increased from 34% to 58%.
