Passenger Demand Continues to Surge: IATA

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that the aerospace industry continues to recover, showing positive results in June 2022. Total traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) in June 2022 grew by 76.2 percent compared to June 2021. Domestic traffic grew by 5.2 percent that month as markets continue to implement strong improvements and ease Omicron-related lockdown restrictions. Total traffic was at 81.4 percent of June 2019’s level.

“Demand for air travel remains strong. After two years of lockdowns and border restrictions people are taking advantage of the freedom to travel wherever they can,” said Willie Walsh, Director General, IATA.

International travel also saw a major increase of 229.5 percent versus June 2021, with restrictions being lifted in the Asia-Pacific region that facilitated major increases in travel. In June 2022, international RPKs reached 65.0 percent of June 2019 levels, added IATA.

“By capping passenger numbers, airports are preventing airlines from benefiting from the strong demand. Heathrow Airport has tried to blame airlines for the disruption. However, Service Level Performance data for the first six months of this year show that they have failed miserably to provide basic services and missed their Passenger Security service target by a massive 14.3 points. Data for June has not yet been published but is expected to show the lowest level of service by the airport since records began,” said Walsh.

In North America, carriers experienced a 168.9 percent traffic increase in June 2022 year-over-year. Capacity rose by 95.0 percent and load factors also grew by 24.1 percentage points to 87.7 percent, the highest among all regions.

In Latin America, traffic increased by 136.6 percent in June 2022 compared to the same month in 2021. Also, capacity grew 107.4 percent that month, while load factors increased 10.3 percentage points to 83.3 percent. However, Latin America’s 20-month dominance in load factors came to an end, as it slipped back to third place in June according to IATA’s press release.