Global air traffic reached 94 % of pre-pandemic level in 2023: International Air Transport…

MUMBAI: Air traffic growth continued through 2023 to catch up with the pre-pandemic numbers as traffic reached about 94 % of 2019 levels, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in its monthly traffic report, released recently. Recovery in air travel continued in December last year which had the total global traffic comprising international and domestic airline flights, that is in the calendar year 2023 rise to 36.9% compared to 2022.
Traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs), is the product of total fare-paying passengers and the distance (in kms) flown by them on airline flights. “December 2023 total traffic rose 25.3% compared to December 2022 and reached 97.5% of the December 2019 level. Fourth quarter traffic was at 98.2% of 2019, reflecting the strong recovery towards the end of the year,” IATA said.
International traffic in 2023 climbed 41.6% versus 2022 and reached 88.6% of 2019 levels.
In December 2023 international traffic climbed 24.2% over December 2022, reaching 94.7% of the level in December 2019. Fourth quarter traffic was at 94.5% of 2019. On the other hand, domestic traffic for 2023 rose 30.4% compared to the prior year. In the year, 2023 domestic traffic was 3.9% above the full year 2019 level. In December 2023 domestic traffic was up 27.0% over the year earlier period and was at 2.3% above December 2019 traffic. Fourth quarter traffic was 4.4% higher than the same quarter in 2019.
Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General said: “The strong post-pandemic rebound continued in 2023. December traffic stood just 2.5% below 2019 levels, with a strong performance in quarter 4, teeing-up airlines for a return to normal growth patterns in 2024. The recovery in travel is good news.” Walsh added that the restoration of connectivity is powering the global economy as people travel to do business, further their education, take hard-earned vacations and much more. “But to maximize the benefits of air travel in the post-pandemic world, governments need to take a strategic approach. That means providing cost-efficient infrastructure to meet demand, incentivizing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production to meet our net zero carbon emission goal by 2050, and adopting regulations that deliver a clear cost-benefit. Completing the recovery must not be an excuse for governments to forget the critical role of aviation to increase the prosperity and well-being of people and businesses the world over,” he added.
Asia-Pacific airlines posted a 126.1% rise in full year international 2023 traffic compared to 2022, maintaining the strongest year-over-year rate among the regions. “Capacity rose 101.8% and the load factor climbed 9.0 percentage points to 83.1%. December 2023 traffic rose 56.9% compared to December 2022,” IATA said. European carriers’ full year traffic climbed 22.0% versus 2022. Capacity increased 17.5%, and load factor rose 3.1 percentage points to 83.8%. For December, demand climbed 13.6% compared to the same month in 2022. December traffic was higher than the corresponding month in 2019 for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Middle Eastern airlines saw a 33.3% traffic rise in 2023 compared to 2022. Capacity increased 26.0% and load factor climbed 4.4 percentage points to 80.1%. December demand climbed 16.6% compared to the same month in 2022.
North American carriers reported a 28.3% annual traffic rise in 2023 compared to 2022. Capacity increased 22.4%, and load factor climbed 3.9 percentage points to 84.6%. December 2023 traffic rose 13.5% compared to the year-ago period. Latin American airlines posted a 28.6% traffic rise in 2023 over full year 2022. Annual capacity climbed 25.4% and load factor increased 2.1 percentage points to 84.7%, the highest among the regions. December demand climbed 26.5% compared to December 2022. African airlines’ annual traffic rose 38.7% in 2023 versus the prior year. Full year 2023 capacity was up 38.3% and load factor climbed 0.2 percentage points to 71.9%, the lowest among regions. December 2023 traffic for African airlines rose 9.5% over December 2022.