In November, global air travel rebounded to 99% of pre-COVID levels, with the Asia-Pacific region leading the recovery, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
International traffic increased by 26.4% compared to November 2022, with Asia-Pacific airlines experiencing the strongest year-over-year growth at 63.8%. The capacity for Asia-Pacific airlines rose by 58.0%, and the load factor increased by 2.9 percentage points to 82.6%. IATA measures air traffic in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPK).
Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general, mentioned that the aviation industry is approaching surpassing the 2019 peak year for air travel, and despite economic challenges, people are increasingly choosing to fly. While international travel remains 5.5% below pre-pandemic levels, the gap is rapidly closing. Domestic markets have consistently exceeded pre-pandemic levels since April.
IATA also highlighted that domestic traffic in November 2023 increased by 34.8% compared to November 2022 and was 6.7% higher than November 2019 levels.
Notably, China experienced strong growth of over 272%, recovering from COVID travel restrictions in place a year ago. US domestic travel reached a new high, expanding by 9.1% over November 2019, fueled by strong Thanksgiving holidays demand.
On the international front, African airlines demonstrated a robust recovery with 22.1% growth, followed by Latin American airlines at 20%, Middle Eastern airlines at 18.6%, European airlines at 14.8%, and North American carriers at 14.3%. The data reflects a positive trend in global air travel, signaling a substantial rebound from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
