IATA announces September passenger data

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced passenger data for September 2022, showing that the recovery in air travel continues to be strong.

While African airlines saw a 90.5 per cent rise in September RPKs versus a year ago, September 2022 capacity was up 47.2 per cent and load factor climbed 16.7 percentage points to 73.6 per cent the lowest among regions.

The total traffic in September 2022, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) rose by 57.0 per cent compared to September 2021, with global traffic now at 73.8 per cent of September 2019 levels.

Domestic traffic for September 2022 was up by 6.9 per cent compared to the year-ago period, just as total September 2022 domestic traffic was at 81 per cent of the September 2019 level.

During the period, international traffic climbed to 122.2 per cent versus September 2021. September 2022 international RPKs reached 69.9 per cent of September 2019 levels. All markets reported strong growth, led by Asia-Pacific.

Reacting to the development, IATA director general, Willie Walsh declared: “Even with economic and geopolitical uncertainties, the demand for air transport continues to recover ground. The outlier is still China with its pursuit of a zero COVID-19 strategy that keeps borders largely closed and creates a demand roller coaster for its domestic market, with September being down 46.4 per cent from the previous year. That is in sharp contrast to the rest of Asia-Pacific, which, despite China’s dismal performance, posted a 464.8 per cent increase in international traffic compared to the year-ago period.

“Strong demand is helping the industry cope with sky-high fuel prices. To support that demand in the long term, we need to pay attention to what travellers are telling us. After nearly three years of pandemic travel complexity, IATA’s 2022 Global Passenger Survey

(GPS) shows that travellers want simplification and convenience.

“That’s an important message for airlines, but also for airports and governments. They own many of the facilitation processes that let passengers down at some key airports over this year’s northern summer travel season. According to the GPS, a majority of passengers want to use biometric data rather than passports for border processes. And 93 per cent of passengers are interested in trusted traveller programs to expedite security screening. Modernizing the facilitation experience will not only help alleviate the choke points, but it will also create a better experience for all”.