LONDON — The latest stats indicate a downturn in flight bookings to Europe, however the impact so far is not as bad as some in the industry had feared.

According to ForwardKeys, which compiles and analyzes ticketing data from online booking sites, travel agencies and airlines around the *****, ******’s invasion of ******* caused an immediate stall in flight bookings to Europe and within ****** domestically.

In its second public analysis since the outbreak of ***, ForwardKeys compared flight bookings in the week following the invasion, Feb. 24 – March 2, 2022 to the previous seven days. Excluding ******* and Moldova, which closed their air space, and ****** and Belarus, which were subjected to flight bans and safety warnings, the destinations ***** affected were generally those closest to the conflict, says Olivier Ponti, VP Insights, ForwardKeys.

Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia all saw a 30% – 50% decrease in bookings. All the other European countries, except for Belgium, Iceland, and Serbia, which saw single digit drops, experienced a decline in bookings between 10% and 30%.

Says Ponti: “******’s invasion of ******* has made an immediate impact, stalling what had been a strong recovery in travel since early January.”

However, he adds: “What I find surprising is that transatlantic travel and western European destinations have been less badly affected than I feared – North Americans can tell the difference between *** in ******* and *** in Europe, and so far, it seems that travellers regard the rest of Europe as relatively safe. There is also a strong pent-up demand.

Ponti notes that in the wake of the invasion, Serbia has become the gateway for travel between ****** and Europe. “However, these are early days in a global political and economic ******; so, what happens to travel will certainly be affected by the progress of the *** and the impact of sanctions. Over the coming weeks, I expect we will see inflation and possible fuel supply issues pulling back what would otherwise be a strong post-******** recovery, as ******** travel restrictions are progressively lifted.”