Global passenger traffic continued to be strong in April while domestic traffic has fully recovered, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
“April continued the strong traffic trend we saw in the 2023 first quarter," confirmed IATA’s Director General, Willie Walsh.
"The easing of inflation and rising consumer confidence in most countries combined with declining jet fuel prices, suggests sustained strong air travel demand and moderating cost pressures,” he elaborated.
Total traffic in April 2023 (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) rose 45.8 percent compared to April 2022.
Globally, traffic is now at 90.5 percent of pre-Covid levels. At 81.3 percent, industry load factor was only 1.8 percentage points below pre-pandemic level.
Domestic traffic for April rose 42.6 percent compared to the year-ago period and has now fully recovered, posting a 2.9 percent increase over the April 2019 results.
International traffic climbed 48.0 percent versus April 2022 with all markets recording healthy growth, with carriers in the Asia-Pacific region continuing to lead the recovery.
International RPKs reached 83.6 percent of April 2019 levels.
By region, Asia-Pacific airlines saw a 192.7 percent increase in April 2023 traffic compared to April 2022.
Capacity climbed 145.3 percent and the load factor increased by 13.2 percentage points to 81.6 percent.
Middle Eastern airlines posted a 38.0 percent traffic increase compared to April a year ago. Capacity climbed 27.8 percent and load factor rose 5.6 percentage points to 76.2 percent.
European carriers had a 22.6 percent traffic rise versus April 2022. Capacity rose 16.0 percent, and load factor climbed 4.5 percentage points to 83.3 percent, which was the second highest among the regions.
North American carriers’ traffic climbed 34.8 percent in April 2023 versus the 2022 period. Capacity increased 26.5 percent, and load factor rose 5.2 percentage points to 83.8 percent, which was the highest among the regions. North American international traffic is now fully recovered, with RPKs 0.4 percent above April 2019 levels. Latin American airlines saw a 25.8 percent traffic increase compared to the same month in 2022. April capacity climbed 26.4 percent and load factor slipped 0.4 percentage points to 83.1 percent. African airlines’ traffic rose 53.5 percent in April 2023 versus a year ago, the second highest among the regions. April capacity was up 50.0 percent and load factor climbed 1.6 percentage points to 69.8 percent, lowest among the regions. In the domestic passenger markets, China’s local traffic rose 536.2 percent in April compared to a year ago and surpassing the April 2019 levels by 6.0 percent US airlines’ domestic demand climbed 5.5 percent in April and was 3.3 percent above the April 2019 levels.
“Heading into the Northern Hemisphere peak travel season, aircraft and airports are full of people eager to make use of their travel freedoms," Walsh remarked.
"Airlines are working hard to accommodate them with a smooth travel experience despite continuing supply chain shortages and other operational challenges."