Air travel has exceeded pre-pandemic levels for the first time in four years.
However, jet fuel use has slowed and not kept up the pace.
That’s either a good or bad thing, depending on how you view it. Airplanes have become more fuel-efficient, and airlines have crammed more passengers into one plane.
Aviation fuel is a key driver for the oil industry and a significant contributor to the global economy. In 2020, global consumption of jet fuel and kerosene dropped to 4.7 million barrels per day, a significant decrease from the peak of 7.9 million the previous year, as reported by the International Energy Agency.
"This is despite air traffic
recovering to pre-pandemic levels, with this gap arising because of very
significant gains in overall aircraft fleet efficiency over the last five
years," IEA analyst Ciaran Healy said.
While the world and airlines may be on the cusp of transitioning to sustainable fuels, it's important to acknowledge the significant role that traditional jet fuel plays in our economy.
Efficiency gains alone have reduced jet fuel demand by around 10 percent compared to the same level of activity before 2020, and analyst Rory Johnston said fuel demand will take at least another year to make up for these changes.
"We barely are at the same level of
2019, while without the pandemic we should have been 16-20 percent higher since
aviation was growing at four percent per year until 2019," analyst Claudio
Galimberti said.
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