RIYADH: Following the slowdown of the pandemic, the total air traffic in the Middle East rose 215.3 percent in February 2022 compared to February 2021, according to the International Air Transport Association. On the global scale, total air traffic in February 2022 was up 115.9 percent compared to February 2021. That is an improvement from January 2022, which was up 83.1 percent compared to January 2021. IATA also made it clear that the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine did not negatively impact air travel, said IATA in a press release. IATA measures total traffic in “revenue passenger kilometers” or RPKs. However, the RPK in February 2022 was down 45.5 percent from February 2019, the time before the pandemic started wreaking havoc around the globe. “The recovery in air travel is gathering steam as governments in many parts of the world lift travel restrictions,” Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general. He added: “States that persist in attempting to lock-out the disease, rather than managing it, as we do with other diseases, risk missing out on the enormous economic and societal benefits that a restoration of international connectivity will bring.”