Air Travel Booms in 2023, but Challenges Loom

It’s been a remarkable 2023 for Europe’s major airlines. Travel demand has returned with a vengeance after years of Covid-related torment. Carriers across the board cashed in on a historic summer, announcing record profits, bumper dividends and a string of aircraft orders. So-called ‘pent up demand’ — referring to holidaymakers desire for travel post-lockdown — stole the show despite a chaotic summer of disruption, which included a monumental slip-up at the UK’s National Air Traffic Services (NATS), European…