On Monday, Airports Council International (ACI) World published the annual ASQ Global Traveller Survey revealing the highest intention to travel by passengers since the beginning of the pandemic.

For the third year, ACI World’s Airport Service Quality’s (ASQ) expertise in market research has been leveraged for the ASQ 2022 Global Traveller Survey to engage the views of travellers who used to travel at least annually before the pandemic, and that have either travelled again during the crisis or are planning to travel again in the future.

Completion of the report was supported by InterVISTAS/NACO as Platinum Advisory Partners; KONE, Plaza Premium Group and Idemia as Premium sponsors; and Boingo as a Standard sponsor.

Evolution of traveller sentiment and behaviour

This year’s Survey highlights the growing confidence of travellers to return to flying:

• 76% of pre-pandemic travellers were planning to travel in 2021-2022; 68% of them actually actioned those plans.


• 86% of respondents are planning to travel by air in the year to come. This is the highest intention score since the beginning of the pandemic. The removal or loosening of many barriers and crisis measures clearly contributed to these results.


• Travellers’ level of confidence that airports and airlines provide a safe environment for passengers has also increased compared to last year and is back to the level obtained in 2020: 81% are confident compared to 74% a year ago.


• Travellers’ perceptions of air travel, particularly their negative concerns, have shifted. Travellers are mainly concerned about the increased costs (77%) and complexity (75%) related to air travel.


• 71% of respondents still expect airports to provide measures that keep them feeling safe. However, the top measure expected has shifted from masks to enhanced cleanliness (selected by 31% of respondents).


• Other sources of concern about travelling relate to operational disruptions such as long waiting time and crowded airports. This may have been caused by the challenges faced by the industry during the peak surge of passenger traffic in mid-2022.

ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira said: “It’s clear from the ASQ 2022 Global Traveller Survey that passengers have a high intention to travel and have confidence in the industry to provide a safe environment. While COVID-19 variants remain a concern for travellers, this year’s report provides new insights to understand current passenger expectations, refine their airport journey, and ensure that their needs are met. This third edition of the Survey will drive the customer-centric approach the industry needs to take—by listening to travellers and continuously improving.

“At the top of the list, airports should continue to place emphasis on their enhanced cleaning, especially as other measures and actions are less tangible. We encourage all airports to leverage the new Public Health & Safety Readiness Accreditation program to better align their public health and safety measures with ACI guidance, industry best practices, and recommendations from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council’s Aviation Recovery Taskforce (CART).

“In addition, the wider aviation ecosystem should work together to continue to increase the adoption of technologies, such as providing real-time information, self-service options, and off-airport processing solutions, all of which travellers have shown a willingness to use.”