GENEVA 9 September 2022: Air travel recovery continues to be strong, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) passenger data for July 2022.
- Total traffic in July 2022 (measured in revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs) was up 58.8% compared to July 2021. Globally, traffic is now at 74.6% of pre-crisis levels.
- Domestic traffic for July 2022 was up 4.1% compared to the year-ago period and is now driving the recovery. Total July 2022 domestic traffic was at 86.9% of the July 2019 level. China saw a strong month-to-month improvement compared to June.
- International traffic rose 150.6% versus July 2021. July 2022 international RPKs reached 67.9% of July 2019 levels. All markets reported strong growth, led by Asia-Pacific.
“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. 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,” said IATA’s director general Willie Walsh.
International Passenger Markets
Asia-Pacific airlines posted a 528.8% rise inJuly traffic compared to July 2021, the strongest year-over-year rate among the regions. Capacity rose 159.9%, and the load factor was up 47.1 percentage points to 80.2%.
European carriers saw Julytraffic rise 115.6% versus July 2021. Capacity rose 64.3%, and load factor climbed 20.6 percentage points to 86.7%, the second highest among the regions.
Middle Eastern airlines’ traffic climbed193.1% in July compared to July 2021. July capacity rose 84.1% versus the year-ago period, and the load factor climbed 30.5 percentage points to 82.0%.
North American carriers hada 129.2% traffic rise in July versus 2021. Capacity rose 79.9%, and load factor climbed 19.4 percentage points to 90.3%, the region’s highest for the second month.
Latin American airlines’ July traffic rose 119.4% compared to the same month in 2021. July capacity rose 92.3%, and the load factor increased 10.5 percentage points to 85.2%.
African airlines saw an84.8% rise in July RPKs versus a year ago. July 2022 capacity was up 46.7%, and the load factor climbed 15.5 percentage points to 75.0%, the lowest among regions.
(Source: IATA)
