The International Air Transport Association (IATA) in its recently published report on the air passenger market for November 2023, disclosed that there was a robust recovery globally, with African region reaching 96.4% air passenger recovery pre-pandemic levels
According to the global body, in the month under review global air travel demand surged to an impressive 99.1% of 2019 levels, indicating a substantial recovery for the industry.
The report further showed that global total traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs), recorded 29.7% increase when compared to the corresponding period in 2022.
A further analysis of the air passenger market report indicated that the Asia-Pacific region led the international surge with a remarkable year-over-year increase of 63.8%, showcasing the region’s strong recovery.
The IATA clarified: “Asia Pacific airlines saw a modest improvement when recovering their pre-pandemic levels of traffic (C. International RPKs (Revenue Passenger Kilometers or revenue passenger miles (RPM) measures the air traffic for Airbus and aircraft) reached 83.0% of November 2019 ).
In Africa, passenger traffic reached 96.4% of November 2019 levels. In seasonally adjusted terms, RPKs grew in line with the steady trend we have observed over the year”, the association added.
The report further reflected that International traffic rose by 26.4%, with the Asia-Pacific region leading the way with an impressive year-over-year increase of 63.8% while domestic traffic surged by 34.8% rise, fueled by robust growth in China and the United States.
The IATA pointed out that despite these positive trends, challenges persist, with international travel still lagging 5.5% behind pre-pandemic levels.
While acknowledging the current economic headwinds as a challenge, IATA Director-General, Willie Walsh, remains optimistic about the industry’s recovery trajectory.
A further analysis of the passenger traffic trends on regional basis showed that Asia-Pacific led the global surge with an 80.1% increase in RPKs and a notable PLF gain of 3.8%; Africa with a 22.1% rise in November RPKs, despite facing challenges with a decreased load factor to 69.7% while Middle East recorded a 18.7% surge in RPKs, settling at a PLF of 77.7%.
Others include Europe which maintained a steady pace with a 13.6% rise in RPKs, boasting a stable PLF at 83.7%, Latin America which recorded a 12.0% increase in RPKs, with a positive PLF growth of 2.2% at 84.4%, and North America which had a 10.2% rise in RPKs, with a slight PLF decrease of 0.8%.
