Iata has announced that the post-COVID recovery momentum continued in July for passenger markets, with global traffic now at 95.6% of pre-pandemic levels.

Total traffic in July (measured in revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs) rose 26.2% compared with July 2022.

Domestic traffic for July rose 21.5% versus July 2022, and was 8.3% above the July 2019 results. July RPKs are the highest ever recorded, strongly supported by surging demand in the Chinese domestic market.

International traffic climbed 29.6% compared with the same month a year ago, with all markets showing robust growth. International RPKs reached 88.7% of July 2019 levels.

The passenger load factor (PLF) for the industry reached 85.7%, which is the highest monthly international PLF ever recorded.

African airlines saw a 25.6% traffic increase in July versus a year ago, the second-highest percentage gain among the regions. July capacity was up 27.4% and load factor fell 1.0 percentage point to 73.9%, the lowest among the regions. For a second month, Africa was the only region to see capacity growth outrun traffic demand.

“Planes were full during July as people continued to travel in ever greater numbers. Importantly, forward ticket sales indicate that traveller confidence remains high. And there is every reason to be optimistic about the continuing recovery,” said Willie Walsh, Iata Director General.