IATA has reported that in 2022, airline traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometers
(RPKs), rose 64.4% compared to 2021.
Globally, full year 2022
traffic was at 68.5% of pre-pandemic (2019) levels.
December 2022
total traffic rose 39.7% compared to December 2021 and reached
76.9% of the December 2019 level.
International traffic in
2022 climbed 152.7% versus 2021 and reached 62.2% of 2019 levels.
December 2022 international traffic climbed 80.2% over December
2021, reaching 75.1% of the level in December 2019.
Domestic
traffic for 2022 rose 10.9% compared to the previous year. 2022
domestic traffic was at 79.6% of the full year 2019 level.
December 2022 domestic traffic was up 2.6% on the year earlier
period and was at 79.9% of December 2019 traffic.
“The industry left 2022 in far stronger shape than it entered, as
most governments lifted COVID19 travel restrictions during the
year and people took advantage of the restoration of their freedom
to travel. This momentum is expected to continue in the New Year,
despite some governments’ over-reactions to China’s re-opening,”
said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
Asia-Pacific airlines posted a
363.3% rise in full year international 2022 traffic compared to
2021, maintaining the strongest year-over-year rate among the
regions. Capacity rose 129.9% and the load factor climbed 37.3
percentage points to 74%. December 2022 traffic rose 302.7%
compared to December 2021.
European carriers’ full
year traffic climbed 132.2% versus 2021. Capacity increased 84%,
and load factor rose 16.7 percentage points to 80.6%. For
December, demand climbed 46.5% compared to the same month in 2021.
Middle Eastern airlines saw a 157.4% traffic rise in
2022 compared to 2021. Capacity increased 73.8% and load factor
climbed 24.6 percentage points to 75.8%. December demand climbed
69.8% compared to the same month in 2021.
North
American carriers reported a 130.2% annual traffic rise in 2022
compared to 2021. Capacity increased 71.3%, and load factor
climbed 20.7 percentage points to 80.8%. December 2022 traffic
rose 61.3% compared to the year-ago period.
Latin
American airlines posted a 119.2% traffic rise in 2022 over full
year 2021. Annual capacity climbed 93.3% and load factor increased
9.7 percentage points to 82.2%, the highest among the regions.
December demand climbed 37% compared to December 2021.
African airlines’ annual traffic rose 89.2% in 2022 versus
the prior year. Full year 2022 capacity was up 51.0% and load
factor climbed 14.5 percentage points to 71.7%, the lowest among
regions. December 2022 traffic for African airlines rose 118.8%
over the year-earlier period.
India’s full year domestic traffic rose 48.8%
versus 2021, reaching 85.7% of the 2019 level.
Japan’s
domestic RPKs rose 75.9% in 2022 and were at 74.1% of the 2019
level.
“Let us hope that 2022
becomes known as the year in which governments locked away forever
the regulatory shackles that kept their citizens earthbound for so
long. It is vital that governments learn the lesson that travel
restrictions and border closures have little positive impact in
terms of slowing the spread of infectious diseases in our globally
inter-connected world. However, they have an enormous negative
impact on people’s lives and livelihoods, as well as on the global
economy that depends on the unfettered movement of people and
goods,” said Walsh.
