IATA says that capacity in available seat kilometres (ASK) rose by 6.5 pc year-on-year
International Air Transport Association (IATA), the apex association that brings together most scheduled airlines in the world, has released its August 2024 global passenger demand report highlighting a significant rise in air travel demand compared to the previous year.
According to a press statement by IATA, total global demand in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) has increased by 8.6 pc compared to August 2023.
IATA says that capacity in available seat kilometres (ASK), rose by 6.5 pc year-on-year, and the load factor hit a record high of 86.2 pc, up by 1.6 percentage points.
The statement says that international travel demand rose 10.6 pc year-on-year, with a capacity increase of 10.1 pc. The international load factor increased slightly to 85.7 pc.
The statement adds that domestic demand grew by 5.6 pc compared to August 2023, with capacity rising just 1.2 pc. Domestic load factors reached 86.9 pc, up by 3.6 percentage points.
Willie Walsh
“The market for air travel is hot and airlines are doing a great job at meeting the growing demand for travel. Efficiency gains have driven load factors to record highs while the 6.5 pc capacity increase demonstrates resilience in the face of persistent supply chain issues and infrastructure deficiencies,” says Willie Walsh, Director General, IATA.
“Looking ahead, the continued strong demand growth signals that we could be fast approaching an infrastructure capacity crunch that would restrict connectivity and choice for passengers and businesses. If governments want to maximise the benefits of aviation, they must take bold decisions to ensure sufficient infrastructure capacity. And, in the interim, both airports and air navigation service providers need to do more with the resources they currently have,” he says.
“In particular, the variance in declared capacity of airports with broadly the same infrastructure needs to be resolved, with airports emulating the best performers. The industry cannot afford to under-utilise the airport infrastructure that we have,” Walsh adds.
IATA says that Asia-Pacific led the growth globally as the region saw a 19.9 pc increase in demand and an 18.8 pc rise in capacity, with a load factor of 85.2 pc. It says that Asia-Pacific continues to recover robustly from the pandemic, nearing pre-pandemic levels.
It says that in Europe, passenger demand rose by 9.1 pc, with capacity up 8.5 pc and a load factor of 87.2 pc, one of the highest globally.
The statement adds that demand in North America increased by 4.3 pc, with a load factor of 88.2 pc, the highest among all regions. Latin America saw strong growth too, with demand increasing by 13.6 pc, though the load factor dipped slightly to 85.1 pc. IATA adds that demand grew by 10.1 pc in Africa, with the load factor improving to 77.8 pc.
Domestic markets also showed robust growth, particularly in China, signalling continued strength for the sector in the remainder of 2024. The statement adds that domestic ticket sales for August-September grew 4.3 pc year-on-year, underpinning solid growth prospects for the rest of the year.
Painting an optimistic picture of the aviation sector, IATA reports rising demand continues to drive recovery across all regions, with some capacity challenges on the horizon.
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