New travel restrictions introduced by the Indian state of West Bengal will dramatically cut airline capacity on one of the busiest domestic routes in the country.

But industry is optimistic that a step-change increase in demand and a return to profitability can be achieved by midyear.

The global airline industry’s long drawn-out recovery from the COVID-19 crisis is now being hindered by the omicron coronavirus variant but how much of an impact it will have during the first quarter remains unclear.

Cathay Pacific said it will fly a “skeleton passenger flight schedule” in January and has cancelled all cargo flights through at least Jan. 6 due to new regulations in Hong Kong.

The air cargo sector faces capacity pressure as it continues to transport COVID-19 vaccines around the world.

Chinese authorities' efforts to maintain the country's zero-COVID policy during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics has been complicated after omicron cases were detected in two cities on Dec. 14.

Air France-KLM Group has paid back €500 million ($566 million) of the €4 billion loan guarantees provided by the French government during the COVID-19 crisis and said discussions on further capital strengthening measures are taking place at the group level.  

The air cargo industry is justifiably proud of what it has achieved since those first COVID-19 vaccines took to the skies last December, but operators know the challenge is far from over and the vaccine effort will continue in 2022 against the backdrop of many broader challenges for the industry.