The dramatic drop in demand for passenger air transport since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing containment measures, is threatening the viability of many companies operating in both the air transport sector and the rest of the aviation industry. Nevertheless, the recently implemented easing of travel restrictions together with several traffic developments led to an improvement in passenger numbers handled by Malta International Airport (MIA) during June 2021 when compared to the previous months. However, the industry’s recovery continues to be impacted by increased uncertainty as travel restrictions continue to change, resulting into new setbacks to consumer confidence in both air travel in general and Malta as a potential tourist destination. To this extent, the lack of uniformity in restrictions imposed by governments across Europe contributed to increased uncertainty and low consumer confidence in air travel, slowing the industry’s recovery in H1-2021. With consumer confidence and air travel demand remaining subdued, MIA’s latest traffic results for July 2021 illustrate a drop in passenger traffic of circa 60.1 per cent when compared to the 2019 levels. In...