The latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have revealed that during June of this year, the total international air traffic increased by 31 per cent compared to June last year.
According to the same source, on a global scale, air traffic has reached a total of 94.2 per cent of the levels observed before the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the first half of 2023 experienced a 47.2 per cent growth in total traffic compared to the corresponding period in the previous year, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
During this June, domestic traffic also witnessed a strong increase of 27.2 per cent compared to the same month of 2022, surpassing June 2019 by 5.1 per cent. Such data also show that over the first half of 2023, domestic demand grew by 33.3 per cent compared to last year.
Meanwhile, international traffic saw a 33.7 per cent surge compared to June 2022, showing strong growth. As a result, international revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) reached 88.2 per cent of the levels recorded in June 2019.
In the first half of this year, international traffic showed a significant growth of 58.6 per cent in comparison to 2022.
“The northern summer travel season started in June with double-digit demand growth and average load factors topping 84 per cent. Planes are full, which is good news for airlines, local economies, and travel and tourism-dependent jobs,” IATA’s Director General Willie Walsh pointed out in this regard.
Further data provided by IATA revealed that in June 2023, European carriers also recorded a 14 per cent rise in traffic compared to 2022. IATA figures show that even capacity saw a growth of 12.6 per cent, while the load factor improved by 1.1 percentage points, reaching 87.8 per cent.
Based on the report, North American carriers experienced an increase of 23.3 per cent in June 2023 compared to the corresponding period in 2022. Capacity increased by 19.5 per cent, and the load factor showed an increase, climbing by 2.7 percentage points to reach the highest level among all regions at 90.2 per cent.
According to IATA, the following airlines experienced the highest growth traffic during June 2023 based on region:
- Asia-Pacific airlines – (128.1 per cent, capacity 115.6 per cent)
- Latin American airlines – (25.8 per cent, capacity 25.0 per cent)
- African airlines – (34.7 per cent, capacity 44.8 per cent)
- Middle East airlines – (29.2 per cent, capacity 25.9 per cent)
- Indian Airlines – (14.8 per cent)
However, in June, domestic traffic in Australia fell slightly by 1.7 per cent compared to the same period a year ago. Thus, the Australian domestic market was the only one to see a year-on-year decline in traffic during that month. Despite this decline, overall traffic remained 3.9 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels, indicating a degree of recovery in the Australian domestic aviation sector.
Source : Schengen Visa