APAC airlines record enormous annual increase for November, per IATA

APAC airlines record enormous annual increase for November, per IATA

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that the air travel recovery continued through November 2022, with APAC airlines reporting the largest annual increase compared to November 2021 levels.

  • Total traffic in November 2022 (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) rose 41.3 per cent compared to November 2021. Globally, traffic is now at 75.3 per cent of November 2019 levels.
  • International traffic rose 85.2 per cent versus November 2021. The Asia-Pacific continued to report the strongest year-over-year results with all regions showing improvement compared to the prior year. November 2022 international RPKs reached 73.7 per cent of November 2019 levels.
  • Domestic traffic for November 2022 was up 3.4 per cent compared to November 2021 with travel restrictions in China continuing to dampen the global result. Total November 2022 domestic traffic was at 77.7 per cent of the November 2019 level.

“Traffic results in November reinforce that consumers are thoroughly enjoying the freedom to travel,” Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general, said.

“Unfortunately, the reactions to China’s reopening of international travel in January reminds us that many governments are still playing science politics when it comes to COVID-19 and travel.

“Epidemiologists, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and others have said that the reintroduction of testing for travelers from China can do little to contain a virus that is already present around the world.

“And China’s objections to these policy measures are compromised by their own pre-departure testing requirements for people traveling to China. Governments should focus on using available tools to manage COVID-19 effectively—including improved therapeutics and vaccinations—rather than repeating policies that have failed time and again over the last three years.”

International Passenger Markets

  • Asia-Pacific airlines had a had a 373.9 per cent rise in November traffic compared to November 2021, which was the strongest year-over-year rate among the regions. Capacity rose 159.2 per cent and the load factor was up 35.9 percentage points to 79.2 per cent.
  • European carriers’ November traffic climbed 45.3 per cent versus November 2021. Capacity increased 25.1 per cent, and load factor moved up 11.6 percentage points to 83.6 per cent, highest among the regions.
  • Middle Eastern airlines saw an 84.6 per cent traffic rise in November compared to November 2021. November capacity increased 45.4 per cent versus the year-ago period, and load factor climbed 16.5 percentage points to 77.7 per cent.
  • North American carriers experienced a 69.9 per cent traffic rise in November versus the 2021 period. Capacity increased 45.5 per cent, and load factor climbed 11.6 percentage points to 81.0 per cent.
  • Latin American airlines’ November traffic rose 59.2 per cent compared to the same month in 2021. November capacity climbed 55.6 per cent and load factor increased 1.9 percentage points to 82.9 per cent.
  • African airlines had an 83.5 per cent rise in November RPKs versus a year ago. November 2022 capacity was up 48.4 per cent and load factor climbed 14.2 percentage points to 74.3 per cent, the lowest among regions.

The IATA reported consistent international aviation recovery throughout 2022 with total traffic improving every month compared to 2021 levels.

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