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Air passenger traffic is expected to continue its strong recovery in the coming New Year despite economic and political uncertainties, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said.
Airlines around the world continued to see strong recovery in travel demand at the end of the third quarter, shortly before the Israel-Hamas war broke out.
Total traffic in September 2023, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), rose 30.1% compared to a year earlier, Globally, traffic was already at 97.3% of pre-COVID levels.
“There is every reason to believe that this momentum can be maintained in the New Year, despite economic and political uncertainties in parts of the world,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
Airlines in the Middle East recorded a 26.1% growth in air passenger traffic at the end of the third quarter, while capacity rose 23.7% and load factor went up by 1.9% to 81.8%.
Latest data, however, suggested a slowdown following the Middle East attacks. Travel analytics company ForwardKeys reported that since October, outbound flight bookings from Middle Eastern countries dropped by 9%, while the global travel market slowed by five percentage points.
Walsh noted that there are other challenges that need to be addressed for the travel industry to continue its momentum amid the uncertainties. These include supply chain issues in the aircraft manufacturing sector that have held back the recovery.
“We need the whole value chain to be ready. Supply chain issues in the aircraft manufacturing sector are unacceptable,” he said.
“The same holds true for infrastructure providers, particularly air navigation service providers. Equipment failures, staffing shortages and labour unrest made it impossible to deliver the flying experience our customers expect.”
Traffic in other markets
According to IATA’s data released on Thursday, carriers in Asia Pacific recorded the biggest jump in traffic at 87.9% in September, while Europe saw a 30.8% growth and Africa posted a 24.6% increase. Latin America and North America markets recorded an increase of 6.4% and 28.8%, respectively.
“With the end of 2023 fast approaching, we can look back on a year of strong recovery in demand as passengers took full advantage of their freedom to travel,” Walsh said.
The busiest aviation hub in the world, the Dubai International Airport, earlier raised its outlook for the year as it reported a surge in passenger traffic during the first six months of 2023. From January to June, the hub served 41.6 million passengers, up by 49% from a year earlier.
Airlines in the UAE had suspended their operations in Israel following the attacks.
(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)
