Global air traffic in September was down 72.8 percent year over year, according to the International Air Transport Association, a slight improvement from the 75.2 percent year over year decline in August traffic. Capacity fell 63 percent year over year and load factor dropped 21.8 percentage points to 60.1 percent.
Crossborder air traffic plunged 88.8 percent year over year in September. Capacity fell 78.9 percent year over year, and load factor fell 38.2 percentage points to 43.5 percent. "A resurgence in COVID-19 outbreaks—particularly in Europe and the U.S.—combined with governments’ reliance on the blunt instrument of quarantine in the absence of globally aligned testing regimes, has halted momentum toward re-opening borders to travel," IATA director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said.
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Domestic air traffic in September was down 43.3 percent year over year, an improvement from August's 50.7 percent year over year decline. IATA attributed the improvement to China and Russia. "Although domestic markets are doing better, this is primarily owing to improvements in China and Russia," said de Juniac. "Domestic traffic represents just a bit more than a third of total traffic, so it is not enough to sustain a general recovery.”
Compared to September 2019, domestic capacity fell 33.3 percent year over year and load factor dropped 12.4 percentage points year over year to 69.9 percent.
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