International travel nears pre-pandemic levels despite lingering restrictions

International Air Transport Association (IATA) director general Willie Walsh this week said that international passenger demand was very satisfactory during July, especially when factoring in any lingering restrictions, as confirmed by the relevant data report released by the association earlier this month.

“July’s performance continued to be strong, with some markets approaching pre-COVID levels, and that is even with capacity constraints in parts of the world that were unprepared for the speed at which people returned to travel,” Walsh said.

“There is still more ground to recover, but this is an excellent sign as we head into the traditionally slower autumn and winter quarters in the Northern Hemisphere,” he added.

According to the association, total traffic in July 2022, which is measured in revenue passenger kilometres, rose by 58.8 per cent when compared to the corresponding month in 2021.

In addition, global passenger traffic has now reached 74.6 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

In terms of domestic travel, passenger traffic grew by 4.1 per cent year-on-year and has been described as a key driver of the sector’s recovery.

In July 2022, total domestic passenger traffic reached 86.9 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, with the Chinese market showing the most impressive growth from the previous month.

Internationally, passenger traffic experienced impressive growth of 150.6 per cent year-on-year.

When compared to the last pre-pandemic year of 2019, international passenger traffic reached 67.9 per cent.

“Aviation continues to recover as people take advantage of their restored freedom to travel,” the IATA director general said.

“The pandemic showed that aviation is not a luxury but a necessity in our globalized and interconnected world,” he added.

While all regions saw robust passenger traffic volumes during this time, the Asia-Pacific market spearheaded the sector’s recovery.

In Europe, carriers saw passenger traffic increase by 115.6 per cent when compared to July 2021.

Moreover, total passenger capacity grew by 64.3 per cent, while the load factor increased by 20.6 per cent, reaching 86.7 per cent overall.

This is the second highest load factor among all regions, with only North American carriers enjoying a higher percentage with 90.3 per cent.

In that region, July traffic rose by 129.2 per cent year-on-year, while the capacity and load factor increased by 79.9 per cent and 19.4 per cent respectively.

In the Middle East, airlines’ traffic rose by 193.1 per cent in July 2022 when compared to the same month in 2021.

What is more, capacity during this time increased by 84.1 per cent year-on-year, while the load factor increased by 30.5 per cent to reach 82 per cent overall.

Walsh also reiterated that aviation is committed to continuing to meet the demands of both private individuals and commercial companies and that it wants to do it in a sustainable manner.

“We have set a goal to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050, which is in line with the targets of the Paris Agreement,” Walsh said.

“Governments will have the opportunity to support our commitment by agreeing to a Long-Term Aspirational Goal (LTAG) of net zero aviation CO2 emissions by 2050 at the upcoming 41st Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),” he concluded.