Global air passenger demand in January rose 2.4 percent year over year, the slowest growth rate since April 2010, according to the International Air Transport Association. IATA attributed the weak demand to the coronavirus outbreak, and expects further weakness in February and March as the virus spreads outside of China.
Capacity rose 1.7 percent year over year, and load factor climbed 0.6 percentage points to 80.3 percent.
"January was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the traffic impacts we are seeing owing to the COVID-19 outbreak, given that major travel restrictions in China did not begin until 23 January," said IATA director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac in a statement. "Nevertheless, it was still enough to cause our slowest traffic growth in nearly a decade."
January crossborder demand rose 2.5 percent year over year. Capacity climbed 0.9 percent year over year, and load factor rose 1.2 percentage points to 81.1 percent. With the exception of Latin America, all regions recorded increases, led by airlines in Africa and the Middle East that saw minimal impact from the coronavirus outbreak.
Demand for domestic travel climbed 2.3 percent year over year in January, as strong growth in the U.S. helped mitigate the impact from a steep decline in China's domestic traffic. Capacity rose 3 percent year over year, and load factor dipped 0.5 percentage points to 78.9 percent.
"The COVID-19 outbreak is a global crisis that is testing the resilience not only of the airline industry but of the global economy," de Juniac said. "Airlines are experiencing double-digit declines in demand, and on many routes traffic has collapsed."
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