According to the February 2023 traffic results announced by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), demand in air travel continues to grow.
According to the February 2023 traffic results announced by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), demand in air travel continues to grow.
According to the numbers released, total traffic in February 2023 increased by 55.5% compared to February 2022. Globally, traffic is currently hovering at 84.9% of February 2019 levels.
Domestic traffic in February increased by 25.2% compared to the same period of the previous year. February 2023 domestic traffic total is at 97.2% of February 2019 level.
International traffic increased by 89.7% from February 2022 and all markets saw strong growth, once again led by airlines in the Asia-Pacific region. International IPCs reached 77.5% of February 2019 levels.
Willie Walsh, Managing Director of IATA, said: “Despite uncertain economic signals, demand for air travel remains strong around the world and particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. The industry is currently below compared to demand levels in 2019 and this gap is narrowing every month”.
Asia-Pacific airlines maintains its very positive momentum in the last few months since the end of travel restrictions in the region, with a 378.7% increase in traffic in February 2023 compared to February 2022. Capacity increased by 6.4 percent and occupancy rate increased by 34.9% and became the second highest among regions with 82.5%.
European carriers reported a 47.9% traffic increase compared to February 2022. Capacity increased by 29.7% and occupancy factor increased by 9.1 points to 73.7%, the lowest level among regions.
Middle East airlines saw a 75.0% increase in traffic compared to February last year. Capacity increased by 40.5% and occupancy factor increased by 15.8 points to 80.0%.
North American carriers' traffic increased 67.4% in February 2023 compared to the 2022 period. Capacity increased by 39.5% and occupancy factor increased by 12.8 points to 76.6%.
Latin American airlines achieved a 44.1% increase in traffic compared to the same month of 2022. February capacity increased by 34.0% and occupancy rate increased by 5.8 points, reaching 82.7%, the highest rate among the regions.
The traffic of African airlines increased by 90.7% in February 2023 compared to the previous year. February capacity increased by 61.7% and occupancy rate increased by 11.4 points to 75.0%.
Japan's domestic traffic increased 1.4 percent in February from a year ago and is now at 89.9% of pre-pandemic levels.
Domestic demand from US airlines increased by 0.6% in February, 0.7% above February 2019 levels.
IATA Managing Director Willie Walsh continued: “People are flying more and more. With Easter and the Passover holiday, we expect large numbers of passengers to fly to many parts of the world. They must do so by relying on airlines to rebuild resilience damaged by the pandemic. Other participants in the air travel value chain, including airports, air service providers and airport security personnel, need to have the same commitment to ensure our customers can enjoy a hassle-free holiday trip."