787 engine gets the full treatment after fire
31st July 2012
Global air passenger traffic was up almost 50% in October compared to the same month last year, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs), passenger traffic was up 44.6% compared to October 2021, the IATA said - a recovery that puts global traffic at three-quarters of what it was in October 2019.
International traffic was up 102.4% compared to October last year, the IATA said, with forward bookings also at around three-quarters of pre-pandemic levels, which "bodes well" got the sector, according to IATA director general Willie Walsh.
The biggest revival came in the Asia Pacific region, which registered a 440% increase year-on-year - albeit "off a very low base", the IATA explained, as borders were largely shut across much the region in late 2021.
However, domestic traffic was down by almost 1% on October last year, due largely to the current "stringent Covid-related travel restrictions" hampering China's huge internal travel market.
According to the IATA, "total October 2022 domestic traffic was at 77.9% of the October 2019 level" with domestic forward bookings "at around 70% of [the] pre-pandemic level".
The passenger traffic numbers were in contrast to air cargo demand, which the IATA earlier this week said was down almost 14.% year-on-year in October.