IATA: Total 2023 Air Traffic Edged Closer to pre-Covid Levels

Total air traffic in 2023 managed to recoup 94.1 percent of pre-pandemic 2019 levels surpassing 2022 by 36.9 percent, found data released this week by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

International traffic last year increased by 41.6 percent over 2022 recovering 88.6 percent of 2019 levels while domestic traffic managed to exceed 2019 by 3.9 percent and 2022 by 30.4 percent.

Airlines in Europe saw traffic climb by 22.0 percent compared to 2022 with capacity up by 17.5 percent, and load factor by 3.1 percentage points to 83.8 percent. Demand increased in December by 13.6 percent over the same month in 2022 and exceeded 2019 December traffic for the first time since the outbreak of Covid-19.

North American carriers marked a 28.3 percent rise in annual traffic in 2023 over 2022 with capacity up by 22.4 percent and load factor by 3.9 percentage points to 84.6 percent.

Other key markets posting increases were airlines in the Asia-Pacific region with traffic up by 126.1 percent in 2023 over 2022 and China’s full-year domestic traffic which rose by 138.8 percent versus 2022.

Photo source: IATA

“The strong post-pandemic rebound continued in 2023. December traffic stood just 2.5 percent below 2019 levels, with a strong performance in quarter 4, teeing-up airlines for a return to normal growth patterns in 2024,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh.

For the month of December 2023, global traffic rose by 25.3 percent compared to December 2022 reaching 97.5 percent of December 2019 levels while fourth-quarter traffic stood at 98.2 percent of 2019 levels, reflecting the strong recovery towards the end of the year.

In the same month, international traffic rose by 24.2 percent over 2022, recovering 94.7 percent of December 2019 levels while domestic traffic for the month increased by 27.0 percent exceeding pre-pandemic December 2019 traffic by 2.3 percent.

“To maximize the benefits of air travel in the post-pandemic world, governments need to take a strategic approach. That means providing cost-efficient infrastructure to meet demand, incentivizing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production to meet our net zero carbon emission goal by 2050, and adopting regulations that deliver a clear cost-benefit,” said Walsh.

Looking ahead, IATA expects an estimated 4.7 billion people to fly in 2024 generating 25.7 billion dollars in revenues for airline companies.