IATA says, post-pandemic passenger traffic trend continued in September globally, including African airlines
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says the strong post-pandemic passenger traffic trend continued in September globally, including African airlines.
According to IATA, total traffic in September, measured in revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs, rose 30.1 pc compared to September 2022.
African airlines posted a 28.1 pc traffic increase in September versus a year ago. Capacity was up 29.9 pc and load factor slipped 1.0 percentage points to 72.6 pc. Globally, traffic is now at 97.3 pc of pre-Covid levels.
IATA says domestic traffic hit a new high for the month of September, as traffic rose 28.3 pc versus September 2022 and exceeded the September 2019 level by 5 pc. On the other hand, international traffic climbed 31.2 pc compared to the same month a year ago. All markets saw double-digit percentage gains year on year. International RPKs reached 93.1 pc of September 2019 levels.
Willie Walsh
“The third quarter of 2023 ended on a high note, with record domestic passenger demand for the month of September and continued strong international traffic,” says Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
In the recent past, Airlines Association of Southern Africa’s (AASA) has called for visa-free travel across the African continent in order to boost tourism, citing several hurdles like inconsistent rules, poor infrastructure and rising aviation taxes, airlines in southern Africa.
Addressing the recent annual general assembly of AASA in Angola, the airline body’s CEO, Aaron Munetsi, urged the Southern African Development Community (SADC) governments to remove the obstacles hindering the industry’s expansion and connectivity. It had also called on African governments to open aviation markets and allow for more routes and more flights where regulatory impediments were blocking growth.
An analysis of the GDP contribution of the aviation industry in Africa revealed that in 2019, the industry generated USD 80 billion in GDP throughout the continent and supported 6.9 million jobs. Changes to liberalise market access between 12 important African countries are predicted to generate USD 1.3 billion in GDP annually and 155,000 new jobs in those areas. According to the analysis, needless constraints on air route establishment may prevent five million travellers from flying between these markets.
