New figures show that the global airline industry experienced record-breaking passenger numbers at the end of this year’s peak season.
The latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reveals that global Revenue Passenger-Kilometres (RPK), a key measure of passenger traffic, surged by 7.1% year-on-year in September, achieving an unprecedented high for the month.
This impressive growth was fuelled by a strong 9.2% year-on-year increase in international passenger traffic.
The IATA said that several factors contributed to the upswing, including the ongoing recovery from the pandemic, a surge in international travel, and robust demand in domestic markets.
Notably, domestic RPK also hit an all-time high in September, rising 3.7% year-on-year.
Domestic traffic in key markets like China, Japan, India, the US, and Brazil witnessed significant year-on-year growth, indicating a healthy appetite for air travel within national borders.
The international passenger traffic segment experienced a robust 9.2% year-on-year increase, demonstrating a resurgence in demand for overseas travel.
The industry average passenger load factor (PLF), which measures the percentage of occupied seats, reached an unprecedented 83.6% in September.
Forward bookings for October and November suggest a continued upward trend, with ticket sales volumes up 7.4% year-on-year.
While the report highlights the overall positive trend, it also identifies specific areas that could present challenges and opportunities for low-fare and regional carriers.
While the overall picture is positive, some individual markets like Japan and Australia showed fluctuating growth patterns and even declines in seat capacity. This highlights the need for airlines to carefully monitor specific markets and adjust their strategies accordingly, said IATA.
Disruptions to airspace and operational risks associated with geopolitical conflicts, especially in the Europe-Asia route, pose challenges for airlines. The report points out that regional airlines operating in affected areas need to remain agile and adapt to evolving geopolitical situations.
IATA’s Director General said the figures were good news for the industry but called on governments to “forge a consensus for sustainable growth”.
“Airlines are making significant investments to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. That needs to be accompanied by an equally active political vision, backed up by actions, to ensure we have efficient and sufficient airport and air traffic management capacity to meet the needs of citizens and businesses to travel,” he said.
