International air travel recovery continues in November 2022

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International air travel recovery continues in November 2022

Geneva, Switzerland, 2023-Jan-10 — /Travel PR News/ — The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that the air travel recovery continued through November 2022.

Total traffic in November 2022 (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) rose 41.3% compared to November 2021. Globally, traffic is now at 75.3% of November 2019 levels.

International traffic rose 85.2% versus November 2021. The Asia-Pacific continued to report the strongest year-over-year results with all regions showing improvement compared to the prior year. November 2022 international RPKs reached 73.7% of November 2019 levels.

Domestic traffic for November 2022 was up 3.4% compared to November 2021 with travel restrictions in China continuing to dampen the global result. Total November 2022 domestic traffic was at 77.7% of the November 2019 level.

“Traffic results in November reinforce that consumers are thoroughly enjoying the freedom to travel. Unfortunately, the reactions to China’s reopening of international travel in January reminds us that many governments are still playing science politics when it comes to COVID-19 and travel. Epidemiologists, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and others have said that the reintroduction of testing for travelers from China can do little to contain a virus that is already present around the world. And China’s objections to these policy measures are compromised by their own pre-departure testing requirements for people traveling to China. Governments should focus on using available tools to manage COVID-19 effectively—including improved therapeutics and vaccinations—rather than repeating policies that have failed time and again over the last three years,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

AIR PASSENGER MARKET
DETAIL- NOVEMBER 2022		 WORLD SHARE​1 RPK ASK PLF(%-PT)​2 PLF (LEVEL)​3
Total Market 100% 41.3% 23.8% 10.0% 80.8%
Africa 1.9% 84.5% 51.7% 13.3% 74.8%
Asia Pacific 27.5% 68.4% 31.3% 17.0% 77.0%
Europe 25.0% 37.0% 19.6% 10.6% 83.8%
Latin America 6.5% 27.8% 27.6% 0.2% 82.0%
Middle East 6.6% 77.9% 41.3% 15.9% 77.5%
North America 32.6% 19.6% 13.3% 4.4% 83.2%

1) % of industry RPKs in 2021    2) Year-on-year change in load factor    3) Load Factor Level

International Passenger Markets

Asia-Pacific airlines had a 373.9% rise in November traffic compared to November 2021, which was the strongest year-over-year rate among the regions. Capacity rose 159.2% and the load factor was up 35.9 percentage points to 79.2%.

European carriers’ November traffic climbed 45.3% versus November 2021. Capacity increased 25.1%, and load factor moved up 11.6 percentage points to 83.6%, highest among the regions.

Middle Eastern airlines saw an 84.6% traffic rise in November compared to November 2021. November capacity increased 45.4% versus the year-ago period, and load factor climbed 16.5 percentage points to 77.7%.

North American carriers experienced a 69.9% traffic rise in November versus the 2021 period. Capacity increased 45.5%, and load factor climbed 11.6 percentage points to 81.0%.

Latin American airlines’ November traffic rose 59.2% compared to the same month in 2021. November capacity climbed 55.6% and load factor increased 1.9 percentage points to 82.9%.

African airlines had an 83.5% rise in November RPKs versus a year ago. November 2022 capacity was up 48.4% and load factor climbed 14.2 percentage points to 74.3%, the lowest among regions.

Domestic Passenger Markets

NOVEMBER 2022
(% YEAR-ON-YEAR)		 WORLD SHARE1 RPK ASK PLF (%-PT)​2 PLF (LEVEL)​3
Domestic 62.3% 3.4% -3.1% 5.1% 80.7%
Domestic Australia 0.8% 190.0% 90.5% 29.0% 84.4%
Domestic Brazil 1.9% 5.1% 7.0% -1.4% 80.9%
Domestic China P.R. 17.8% -38.8% -41.6% -2.9% 64.0%
Domestic India 2.1% 11.1% 0.5% 8.4% 87.9%
Domestic Japan 1.1% 37.3% 17.7% 10.8% 75.5%
Domestic US 25.6% 5.0% 2.2% 2.3% 84.0%

1) % of industry RPKs in 2021    2) Year-on-year change in load factor    3) Load Factor Level

Brazil’s domestic RPKs rose 5.1% in November compared to November 2021 and are now at 96.2% of 2019 levels.

US domestic traffic climbed 5.0% in November compared to November 2021, pushing it to 99% of the November 2019 level.

NOVEMBER 2022(% CH VS THE SAME MONTH IN 2019) WORLD SHARE1 RPK ASK PLF (%-PT)​2 PLF (LEVEL)​3
TOTAL MARKET 100.0% -24.7% -24.6% -0.1% 80.8%
International 37.7% -26.3% -28.9% 0.7% 80.9%
Domestic 62.3% -22.3% -20.8% -1.5% 80.7%

1) % of industry RPKs in 2021    2) Change in load factor vs same month in 2019    3) Load Factor Level

Notes for Editors:

  • IATA (International Air Transport Association) represents some 300 airlines comprising 83% of global air traffic.
  • You can follow us at twitter.com/iata for announcements, policy positions, and other useful industry information.
  • Statistics compiled by IATA Economics using direct airline reporting complemented by estimates, including the use of FlightRadar24 data provided under license.
  • All figures are provisional and represent total reporting at the time of publication plus estimates for missing data. Historic figures are subject to revision.
  • Domestic RPKs accounted for about 62.3% of the total market; the seven domestic markets in this report accounted for approximately 54.0% of global RPKs in 2021.
  • Explanation of measurement terms:
    – RPK: Revenue Passenger Kilometers measures actual passenger traffic
    – ASK: Available Seat Kilometers measures available passenger capacity
    – PLF: Passenger Load Factor is % of ASKs used.
  • IATA statistics cover international and domestic scheduled air traffic for IATA member and non-member airlines.
  • Total passenger traffic market shares for 2021 by region of carriers in terms of RPK are: Asia-Pacific 27.5%, Europe 25.0%, North America 32.6%, Middle East 6.6%, Latin America 6.5%, and Africa 1.9%.

For more information, please contact:

Corporate Communications
Tel: +41 22 770 2967
Email: corpcomms@iata.org

Source: IATA

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