Air travel demand continued its upward trajectory in March, according to Iata.
Total traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs), rose 52.4% compared with March 2022, meaning global traffic is now at 88% of March 2019 levels. This is more than three percentage points higher than the 84.9% reported in February.
Domestic traffic for March rose 34.1% compared with the same period a year ago. Total March 2023 domestic traffic was at 98.9% of the March 2019 level.
International traffic climbed 68.9% versus March 2022 with all markets recording healthy growth, led again by Asia-Pacific carriers. International RPKs reached 81.6% of March 2019 levels, while the load factor at 81.3% exceeded the March 2019 level by 10.1 percentage points.
“The calendar year first quarter ended strongly for air travel demand. Domestic markets have been near their pre-pandemic levels for months. And for international travel two key waypoints were topped.
“First, demand increased by 3.5 percentage points compared with the previous month’s growth, to reach 81.6% of pre-COVID levels. A near-tripling demand for Asia-Pacific carriers led this as China’s reopening took hold. And efficiency is improving as international load factors reached 81.3%. Even more importantly, ticket sales for domestic and international travel indicate that strong growth will continue into the peak Northern hemisphere summer travel season,” said Willie Walsh, Iata Director General.
Africa’s recovery
African airlines’ traffic rose 71.7% in March versus a year ago, the second highest among the regions. March capacity was up 56.2% and load factors climbed 6.5 percentage points to 72.2%, the region’s lowest.
Lack of capacity
“As traveller expectations build towards the peak Northern hemisphere summer travel season, airlines are doing their best to meet the desire and need to fly. Unfortunately, a lack of capacity means some travellers may be disappointed.
“Part of this capacity shortfall is attributable to the widely reported labour shortages impacting many parts of the aviation value chain and supply chain issues affecting the aircraft manufacturing sector, resulting in delivery delays.
“However, a significant share of recent flight cancellations, primarily in Europe, are owing to job actions by air traffic controllers and others. These irresponsible actions resulted in thousands of unnecessary cancellations in March. This is unacceptable and should not be tolerated by the authorities,” said Walsh.
