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The strong recovery in the global air passenger demand continued in October with the global traffic at 98.2 per cent of pre-Covid levels, according to International Air Transport Association (IATA), an association of global airlines.
Total traffic in October 2023 (measured in revenue passenger km or RPKs) rose 31.2 per cent compared to October 2022.
Asia-Pacific airlines led the global recovery with an 80.3 per cent increase in October 2023 traffic compared to October 2022, continuing to lead the regions. Capacity climbed 72.5 per cent and the load factor increased by 3.6 percentage points to 82.9 per cent.
Domestic traffic for October rose 33.7 per cent versus October 2022, driven by the triple-digit percentage growth recorded in China, and was 4.8 per cent above the October 2019 results. India reported a 10 per cent growth, IATA said in a report.
International traffic climbed 29.7 per cent compared to the same month a year ago. All markets saw double-digit percentage gains year on year. International RPKs reached 94.4 per cent of October 2019 levels, the report said.
“October’s strong result brings the industry ever closer to completing the post-pandemic traffic recovery. Domestic markets remain above pre-Covid levels. International demand is recovering, but more slowly. In particular, Asia Pacific carriers’ international demand is 19.5 per cent behind 2019. This could reflect the late lifting of Covid restrictions in parts of the region as well as commercial developments and political tensions, ” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
- Also Read: Unruly passenger behaviour on rise: IATA
The Bottom Line
People assign a high value to the freedom to travel. The strong demand seen all year confirms that. Aviation is committed to ensuring that people can continue to enjoy this freedom. To do that in the long-term, we must also meet our commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Last month, the Third Conference on Aviation Alternative Fuels agreed on a global framework to promote Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production with the aim that aviation fuel in 2030 is 5 per cent less carbon intensive than fossil fuel used today. Governments need to support that target by immediately putting in place policies to stimulate SAF production. It bears repeating: last year, every drop of SAF that was produced was purchased. The same thing will occur this year. But, with a few notable exceptions, governments are not living up to their obligations to ensure SAF is plentiful and affordable to support the industry’s energy transition, said Walsh.
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