IATA: Global air passenger demand soars 21.5 pct in Feb
LUMPUR: The total global passenger demand for air travel in February 2024, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs), rose 21.5 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y), said the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
It said the total capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASK), was up 18.7 per cent y-o-y, while the load factor was 80.6 per cent.
IATA director general Willie Walsh said the strong start to 2024 continued in February with all markets except North America reporting double-digit growth in passenger traffic.
“There is good reason to be optimistic about the industry’s prospects in 2024 as airlines accelerate investments in decarbonisation and passenger demand shows resilience in the face of geopolitical and economic uncertainties,” he said in a statement yesterday.
IATA said all regions showed double-digit growth for international passenger markets in February 2024 compared to a year ago, which saw demand for international services exceeded pre-pandemic levels (+0.9 per cent compared to February 2019).
However, the performance is skewed by February 2024 being a leap year with an extra day compared to February 2023.
The international demand rose 26.3 per cent compared to February 2023 while capacity was up 25.5 per cent y-o-y and the load factor improved to 79.3 per cent.
“Asia-Pacific airlines saw a
53.2 per cent y-o-y increase in demand. Capacity grew 52.1 per cent y-o-y and the load factor rose to 84.9 per cent, the highest among all regions,” it said.
Meanwhile, domestic demand rose 15.0 per cent compared to February 2023, capacity was up 9.4 per cent y-o-y and the load factor was 82.6 per cent.
“Domestic demand growth was led by China (+35.1 per cent compared to February 2023) which benefitted from unrestricted Lunar New Year travel,” said IATA.