IATA global airline traffic leaps above 2019 for first time during longer February

Global airline traffic among the IATA membership in February exceeded pre-Covid levels for the first time since the pandemic, aided by the leap year adding an extra day to the month. Passenger traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) was 5.7% above February 2019 levels during the month, IATA data released on 4 April shows, having been 0.4% down in January and within a few percentage points of pre-Covid traffic since early summer 2023. Capacity was some 5.8% higher, with load factor broadly flat against 2019 at 80.6%. “A strong recovery in all regions and important markets as well as a particularly busy month of February contributed to this outcome,” the airline association says. International RPKs were 0.9% above 2019 levels in February, while domestic traffic was up 13.7%, data shows. On a year-on-year basis, global RPKs were 21.5% higher in February, IATA adds. Asia-Pacific carriers continue to contribute huge year-on-year rises in traffic – 38% in February, including more than 50% growth in international markets – but equally continue to be the only regional grouping that lags 2019 international traffic in terms of absolute RPK figures, notably given the tentative return of China to overseas connectivity since it reopened as 2023 began. In contrast, China’s huge domestic market is a key driver as local and global domestic traffic continues to trend significantly above pre-Covid levels and year-ago figures. The busy lunar new year travel period fell within February this year and in 2019, but was in January in 2023. In other international airline markets where growth has long gone through the post-Covid-restrictions boom, IATA still notes “resilient” figures that suggest “consistent expansion”. IATA separately announced on 3 April that February saw air cargo demand rise by 11.9% year on year, becoming the third consecutive month of double-digit growth.<br/>