Demand for air travel continued to recover strongly worldwide in September 2022

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced on 11/7 the worldwide passenger aviation market data for September 2022, showing that the recovery in air travel remains strong. Total traffic in September 2022 (measured in revenue from passenger-kilometers or RPKs) increased by 57.0% compared to September 2021. Globally, traffic is now at 73.8% of September 2019 levels. In September 2022, it increased by 6.9% compared to the same period last year. September 2022’s total domestic traffic was 81% of September 2019 level. International traffic increased 122.2% compared to September 2021. September 2022 international RPKs reached 69.9% of September 2019 levels. All markets reported strong growth, led by Asia Pacific. Willie Walsh, Director General of IATA, commented, “Even with economic and geopolitical uncertainties, demand for air transport continues to regain ground. The exception is still China, with its pursuit of a zero COVID strategy, keeping borders largely closed and creating a roller coaster of demand for its home market, with September down 46.4% year-on-year. This is in stark contrast to the rest of Asia-Pacific, which, despite China’s poor performance, has seen a 464.8% increase in international traffic compared to the same period last year.” International RPKs rose 122.2% year-on-year in September, showing continued recovery and momentum. Traffic remains 30.1% below 2019 levels, an improvement of 2.6 points from last month. Asia-Pacific airlines saw a 464.8% increase in traffic in September compared to September 2021, the strongest year-over-year rate among regions. Capacity increased 165.3% and load factor increased 41.5 percentage points to 78.3%. European operators’ traffic in September increased by 78.3% compared to September 2021. Capacity increased by 43.8% and load factor increased by 16.3 percentage points to 84.1%, the second highest among regions . Middle Eastern airlines saw a 149.7% increase in traffic in September compared to September 2021. September capacity increased 63.5% year-on-year, and load factor rose 27 .6 percentage points to 80.0%. North American carriers saw a 128.9% traffic increase in September over the 2021 period. Capacity increased 63.0% and load factor rose 24.6 percentage points to 85.4%, the highest among regions for the fourth consecutive month. Latin American airlines’ September traffic increased 99.4% compared to the same month in 2021. September capacity increased 73.7% and load factor increased 10.8 percentage points to 83.5%. African airlines saw a 90.5% increase in September RPKs from a year ago. September 2022 capacity increased 47.2% and load factor rose 16.7 percentage points to 73.6%, the lowest among regions. Total domestic traffic grew by 6.9% year-on-year in September and supply contracted by 3.2%, with divergences between the main domestic markets in the world. Reached traffic reached 81.0% of the September 2019 results. Recent developments in China indicate a significant contraction in domestic traffic compared to the previous month, following the reintroduction of travel restrictions in some provinces. RPKs are down 43.3% month-on-month, with traffic levels now 60.5% lower than in September 2019 – down 22.7 points from the previous month. Given the importance of China’s domestic market, travel policies in the country continue to impact global numbers. US domestic traffic continues to reach pre-pandemic levels, with September up 0.4% from the same month in 2019. With seat capacity down 3.0% from 2019, the passenger load factor is 2 .9% higher than in 2019, at 85.4%. Domestic RPKs in Brazil rose 14.9% year-on-year in September, 4.0% below pre-pandemic levels. With a passenger load factor of 80.5% and with small differences from the pre-pandemic activity levels of recent months, this market is close to a full recovery. In India, domestic RPKs increased 42.6% year-on-year and supply increased 30.7%. Even so, passenger traffic remains 15.1% lower than in the same month in 2019. After Omicron’s strong impact on the country, the recovery is well underway, but lagging compared to other major markets. Japan’s domestic market continues to recover, with passenger traffic growing 127.9% year-on-year. After a sharp rebound, seasonally adjusted domestic RPKs are around 80% of pre-crisis levels since June 2022. Australia has seen a 276.0% year-on-year increase in domestic traffic and is now at 17.0 % below the numbers achieved in 2019. That market has also trended above 80% of 2019 levels since April 2022, sustaining momentum gained from the removal of travel restrictions last year. Insufficient data does not allow reporting the evolution of the domestic market for Russia. Willie Walsh concludes, “Strong demand is helping the industry deal with skyrocketing fuel prices. To meet this demand in the long term, we need to pay attention to what travelers are telling us. After nearly three years of pandemic travel complexity, IATA’s 2022 Global Passenger Survey (GPS) shows travelers want simplification and convenience. This is an important message for airlines, but also for airports and governments. They have many of the facilitation processes that let passengers down at some major airports during this year’s northern summer travel season. According to GPS, most passengers want to use biometric data instead of passports for border processes. And 93% of passengers are interested in trusted traveler programs to streamline security screening. Modernizing the facilitation experience will not only help alleviate bottlenecks, it will also create a better experience for everyone.” – https://aeroin.net/demanda-do-transporte-aereo-mundial-continuou-em-forte-recuperacao-em-setembro-de-2022/