IATA: Global Passenger Demand Continues Upward Trend in April

Passenger demand continued its upward trend in April increasing by 11 percent over the same month a year ago, announced the International Air Transport Association (IATA)  on Thursday.

Global capacity in the same month rose by 9.6 percent and the load factor by 82.4 percent.

International travel demand increased by 15.8 percent, capacity by 14.8 percent, and load factor improving to 82.2 percent while demand for domestic travel marked a 4 percent increase, a 2.1 percent rise in capacity, and a load factor of 82.6 percent.

Globally, Asia-Pacific airlines saw a 32.1 percent rise in demand, while airlines in Europe experienced a 10.1 percent increase with capacity up by 10.0 percent year-on-year and the load factor at 83.3 percent.

According to IATA data, international routes from Europe exceeded Pre-pandemic 2019 levels to all regions except Africa.

The Middle East and Latin America also posted strong growth, with increases of 14.2 percent and 14.5 percent, respectively. North American carriers’ demand grew by 6.5 percent, and African airlines saw a 15.5 percent rise.

Regionally, Asia-Pacific marked a 17.4 percent increase in demand, followed by the Middle East at 14.1 percent, Africa at 15.7 percent, Europe at 9.3 percent, Latin America at 8 percent, and North America at 4.2 percent.

IATA survey: Air travel makes passengers’ life better

“Passenger demand has grown for 36 consecutive months. With the northern summer travel season approaching, we anticipate a strong season. Our survey shows 97 percent of passengers were satisfied with their last flight. Every part of the travel value chain needs to be focused on maintaining that,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh.

He went on to add that achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 was of utmost importance in order to sustain the benefits of air travel.

According to an IATA survey, 88 percent of respondents said air travel improves their lives.