IATA: November 2022 Air Traffic Reflects Strong Demand for Travel

Improved air traffic figures in November 2022 reflect a growing demand for travel with total traffic up by 41.3 percent compared to the same month in 2021, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently.

According to data released by IATA, global traffic recouped 75.3 percent of pre-Covid 2019 levels for the same month and 85.2 percent over November 2021.

“Traffic results in November reinforce that consumers are thoroughly enjoying the freedom to travel. Unfortunately, the reactions to China’s reopening of international travel in January reminds us that many governments are still playing science politics when it comes to Covid-19 and travel,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh commenting on the EU’s recommendations last week which include imposing pre-departure testing on travelers from China.

“Governments should focus on using available tools to manage Covid-19 effectively – including improved therapeutics and vaccinations – rather than repeating policies that have failed time and again over the last three years,” he added.

According to IATA’s report, all regions showed improved air traffic compared to 2021 with Asia-Pacific marking the strongest year-over-year results and the region’s airlines a 373.9 percent rise in November traffic compared to the same month in 2021.

Domestic traffic in November last year was up by 3.4 percent over November 2021 with travel restrictions in China continuing to dampen the global result.

Total November 2022 domestic traffic was at 77.7 percent of November 2019 levels.

In Europe, November airline traffic increased by 45.3 percent compared to the same month in 2021 with capacity up by 25.1 percent and load factor by 11.6 percentage points to 83.6 percent, highest among the regions.

Meanwhile, domestic traffic in the US grew by 5.0 percent in November over the same month in 2021, close to 99 percent of November 2019 levels.