Airlines record 16 per cent traffic surge, strong start in 2024

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released data for January 2024 global passenger demand, indicating a strong start for the year.
Foreign Airlines

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released data for January 2024 global passenger demand, indicating a strong start for the year.

Total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs), was up 16.6 per cent; total capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASK), was up 14.1 per cent; and the load factor was 79.9 per cent (+1.7pt).

International demand rose 20.8 per cent; capacity was up 20.9 per cent and the load factor remained at 79.7 per cent (+0.0pt). Domestic demand rose 10.4 per cent; capacity was up 4.6 per cent and the load factor was 80.2 per cent (+4.2pt)

IATA’s Director General, Willie Walsh, said it was pleasing that 2024 was off to a strong start despite economic and geopolitical uncertainties.

Walsh said as governments look to build prosperity in their economies in the busiest election year ever, they must see aviation as a catalyst for growth.

“Increased taxes and onerous regulation are a counterweight to prosperity. We will be looking to governments for policies that help aviation to reduce costs, improve efficiency and make progress towards net zero CO2 emissions by 2050,” he said.

In the regional performance section, African airlines’ saw 18.5 per cent traffic increase in January 2024 versus a year ago. January capacity was up 19.2 per cent causing load factor to decline 0.4 percentage points to 73.3 per cent, the lowest among the regions.

Asia-Pacific airlines saw 45.4 per cent increase in January 2024 traffic compared to January 2023, continuing the region’s rapid recovery after the lifting of pandemic restrictions. Capacity climbed 48.1 per cent and the load factor fell by 1.5 percentage points to 82.6 per cent.

The exceptionally strong growth rate is largely attributable to China which was in the early stages of lifting COVID-19 travel restrictions in January 2023. The recovery in major international routes to/from Asia-Pacific is still lagging, but routes such as Asia-Middle East have exceeded pre-pandemic levels.

European carriers’ January 2024 traffic rose 10.8 per cent versus January 2023. Capacity increased 10.7 per cent, and the load factor edged up 0.1 percentage points to 77.3 per cent. Routes between Europe and North America have rebounded particularly strongly from the pandemic and stand 6.5 per cent higher than in January 2020.

Middle Eastern airlines posted a 16.2 per cent rise in January 2024 traffic compared to a year ago. Capacity rose 15.7 per cent and load factor climbed 0.4 percentage points to 79.9 per cent.

North American carriers had a 12.3 per cent traffic rise in January 2024 versus the 2023 period. Capacity also increased 13.7 per cent, and load factor fell 1.0 percentage point to 79.4 per cent.

Latin American airlines’ traffic rose 17.9 per cent compared to the same month in 2023. January capacity climbed 13.2 per cent, pushing the load factor up 3.4 percentage points to 86 per cent, the highest among the regions.