Global air passenger traffic in September continued recovering, with year-over-year increases for both domestic and international demand, according to the International Air Transport Association. There also was a slight bump in total global traffic to 73.8 percent of 2019 levels, compared with 73.7 percent in August 2022.
Total September traffic, as measured in revenue passenger kilometers, was up 57 percent compared with September 2021. Total capacity as measured in available seat kilometers was up 29.1 percent from a year prior, and at 74.1 percent of 2019 levels. Load factor increased 14.5 percentage points to 81.6 percent versus September 2021.
"Even with economic and geopolitical uncertainties, the demand for air transport continues to recover ground," IATA director general Willie Walsh said in a statement. "The outlier is still China, with its pursuit of a zero-Covid strategy keeping borders largely closed and creating a demand roller coaster ride for its domestic market."
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Those policies resulted in China's domestic market flipping from year-over-year traffic and capacity gains in August to declines in September of 46.4 percent and 45.9 percent, respectively. The drops are in contrast to the gains the total Asia-Pacific region reported, with traffic up 51.9 percent versus September 2021, and capacity up 22.2 percent for the same period.
Domestic traffic in September was up 6.9 percent year over year, with capacity down 3.2 percent. Australia again reported the largest traffic gain, at 276 percent, followed by Japan, which recently relaxed some Covid restrictions, at 127.9 percent. The United States is the only domestic region with growth over September 2019 levels, at 0.4 percent. Brazil is next closest at 96 percent of pre-pandemic levels.
International September traffic showed a 122.2 percent increase year over year with capacity up 64.2 percent. Despite China's domestic declines, the Asia-Pacific region reported the largest gains, with traffic up 464.8 percent versus a year prior and capacity up 165.3 percent. The Middle East and North America each had triple-digit traffic gains of 149.7 percent and 128.9 percent, respectively. Compared with September 2019 levels, total international traffic was down 30.1 percent and capacity was off by 30.6 percent. North American load factor climbed 24.6 percentage points to 85.4 percent, the highest for the domestic regions for the fourth consecutive month, according to IATA.
"Strong demand is helping the industry cope with sky-high fuel prices," Walsh said. "To support that demand in the long-term, we need to pay attention to what travelers are telling us. After nearly three years of pandemic travel complexity, IATA's 2022 Global Passenger Survey shows that travelers want simplification and convenience. That's an important message for airlines, but also for airports and governments. … A majority of passengers want to use biometric data … and 93 percent of passengers are interested in trusted traveler programs."
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