Passenger Recovery Gained Strength in November
The global recovery in air passenger travel continued as 2022 neared its end, as the industry showed relative improvement into November compared with 2019, according to IATA.
Data from the airline association shows that total traffic, as measured by revenue passenger-kilometres, rose 41% year on year in November, recovering to 75% of pre-pandemic levels.
The corresponding figures for October were a 45% increase to 74%.
Having been hit harder amid the pandemic, international RPKs bounced back faster during November, rising 85%, compared with just 3.4% growth in domestic.
Domestic RPKs were broadly unchanged against October, sitting at just over a fifth below the level of November 2019. The USA has been the best-performing domestic market, with traffic standing just 1% below November 2019.
"Traffic results in November reinforce that consumers are thoroughly enjoying the freedom to travel," states IATA director general Willie Walsh. "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."
IATA has been highly critical of government moves to impose testing requirements on arrivals from China as the country opens up amid a surge in cases.
The association's data likewise shows that November load factors were highest in Europe, at 83.8%, followed by North America at 83.2% and Latin America at 82%. Year-on-year growth in load factor was the highest in Asia-Pacific, up 17 percentage points, and the Middle East, up 15.9 points.