The global passenger traffic in September 2022 showed a steady rise of 57% as compared to September 2021 according to The International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s latest report. IATA predicts that the recovery in air travel continues to be strong and global air traffic is now at 73.8% of September 2019 levels.
Domestic traffic for European operators was up 6.9% compared in September 2022 to the year-ago period while international traffic climbed 122.2%.
Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General said: “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 strategy keeping borders largely closed and creating a demand roller coaster ride for its domestic market, with September being down 46.4% on the previous year. That is in sharp contrast to the rest of Asia-Pacific, which, despite China’s dismal performance, posted a 464.8% increase for international traffic compared to the year-ago period.”
Asia-Pacific showed the strongest year-over-year recovery among all the regions with a 464.8% rise in September 2022 traffic compared to September 2021. For the European carriers, September traffic climbed 78.3% while Middle Eastern airlines posted a 149.7% traffic rise as compared to the same time last year.
US domestic traffic climbed 16.8% in September compared to September 2021, pushing it to 0.4% above the September 2019 level while the North American carriers had a 128.9% traffic rise and African airlines saw a 90.5% rise in September 2022 traffic levels as compared to September 2021. Thus, all markets reported strong growth, led by Asia-Pacific.
All-in-all IATA’s study reflects that strong demand is helping the industry cope with sky-high fuel prices. To support that demand in the long term, after nearly three years of pandemic travel complexity, IATA predicts that travelers want simplification and convenience during air travel.