According to the latest report from the International Air Transport Association, growth in air traffic in April was again driven by increased international demand.
International demand (RPKs) increased 15.8% in April compared to the same period last year, while capacity (ASKs) increased 14.8%. Domestic demand increased 4% in April compared to April 2023, while domestic capacity increased 2.1%.
Compared to April 2023, total global air demand increased by 11% and capacity increased by 9.6% in April. The load factor in April was 82.4%, up 1 percentage point year-on-year. Total demand increased in all regions except North America, which increased by 4.2% year-on-year. North America also ranked second in load factor at 83% (second only to Europe’s 83.8%), but it was down 2.7 percentage points from April 2023.
“Passenger demand has grown for 36 consecutive months,” IATA Director General Willie Walsh said in a statement. “As we head into the peak northern summer travel season, there is every reason to be optimistic about strong growth this summer as airlines offer a wide range of travel options.”
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International load factor rose 0.7 percentage points to 82.2%, a two-year high, IATA said. Asia-Pacific again reported the largest increases in demand and capacity, at 32.1% and 29.3%, respectively. Demand in all regions except North America increased by double-digit percentages compared to April 2023, with demand in North America up 6.5%. Capacity also saw double-digit growth in almost all regions, with the Middle East barely matching that mark with a 9.9% increase. In addition, international routes from Europe to all regions except Africa exceeded pre-pandemic levels, IATA said.
Domestic demand growth was in the low to mid-single digits and capacity remained unchanged, with the exception of China and Japan, which reported a year-on-year increase of just 0.1%, but according to IATA this was due to “the end of the fiscal year and the start of the school spring break.” [demand] The trend remains positive.”
