May global air demand was 62.7 percent lower than its pre-pandemic May 2019 level, according to the International Air Transport Association, a comparative improvement from April 2021, which was 65.2 percent lower than 2019. May 2021 global capacity was down 53.7 percent compared with the May 2019 level. May load factor was 65.8 percent, down 15.9 percentage points from 2019.
May crossborder air demand fell 85.1 percent compared with May 2019, an comparative improvement from April's 87.2 percent decline. All regions with the exception of Asia-Pacific contributed to the modest comparative improvement, according to IATA. May capacity fell 74.6 percent compared with May 2019. Load factor fell 33.2 percentage points to 47.3 percent.
[Report continues below chart.]
Domestic air demand continued to improve. May domestic air demand was down 23.9 percent from May 2019, comparatively better than the 25.5 drop reported for April. Domestic capacity was down 15.7 percent. Load factor fell 8.1 percentage points to 75.9 percent. Traffic in China and Russia continues to grow compared with pre-pandemic levels, while traffic in India and Japan dropped amid new variants and outbreaks.
RELATED: April traffic and capacity