The recovery in global air travel continues to be strong, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) passenger demand data released Monday night, Nov. 7.
“Even with economic and geopolitical uncertainties, the demand for air transport continues to recover ground," confirmed IATA Director General Willie Walsh.
The outlier is still China with its pursuit of a zero COVID strategy keeping borders largely closed and creating a demand roller coaster ride for its domestic market, with September being down 46.4 percent on the previous year, he pointed out.
"That is in sharp contrast to the rest of Asia-Pacific, which, despite China’s dismal performance, posted a 464.8 percent increase for international traffic compared to the year-ago period.”
Overall, total traffic in September 2022 (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) rose 57.0 percent compared to September 2021. Globally, traffic is now at 73.8 percent of September 2019 levels.
Domestic traffic for September 2022 was up 6.9 percent compared to the year-ago period. Total September 2022 domestic traffic was at 81 percent of the September 2019 level.
International traffic climbed 122.2 percent versus September 2021. September 2022 international RPKs reached 69.9 percent of September 2019 levels. All markets reported strong growth, led by Asia-Pacific.
Asia-Pacific airlines saw a 464.8 percent rise in September traffic compared to September 2021, the strongest year-over-year rate among the regions.
Capacity rose 165.3 percent and the load factor was up 41.5 percentage points to 78.3 percent.
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Middle Eastern airlines posted a 149.7 percent traffic rise in September compared to September 2021.
September capacity increased 63.5 percent versus the year-ago period, and load factor climbed 27.6 percentage points to 80.0 percent.
European carriers September traffic climbed 78.3 percent versus September 2021. Capacity increased 43.8 percent and load factor moved up 16.3 percentage points to 84.1 percent, second highest among the regions.
North American carriers had a 128.9 percent traffic rise in September versus the 2021 period.
Capacity increased 63.0 percent, and load factor climbed 24.6 percentage points to 85.4 percent, which was the highest among the regions for a fourth consecutive month.
Latin American airlines’ September traffic rose 99.4 percent compared to the same month in 2021. September capacity climbed 73.7 percent and load factor increased 10.8 percentage points to 83.5 percent.
African airlines saw a 90.5 percent rise in September RPKs versus a year ago. September 2022 capacity was up 47.2 percent and load factor climbed 16.7 percentage points to 73.6 percent, the lowest among regions.
In the domestic passenger market, Japan’s domestic RPKs rose 127.9 percent in September and are now at nearly 75.6 percent of 2019 levels.
US domestic traffic climbed 16.8 percent in September compared to September 2021, pushing it to 0.4 percent above the September 2019 level.
The 85.4 percent load factor was the highest among the domestic markets.
“Strong demand is helping the industry cope with sky high fuel prices. To support that demand in the long-term, we need to pay attention to what travelers are telling us," Walsh admonished.
After nearly three years of pandemic travel complexity, IATA’s 2022 Global Passenger Survey (GPS) showed that travelers want simplification and convenience.
"That’s an important message for airlines but also for airports and governments," he concluded.