Air travel bounces back: Global surge in 2023 near pre-pandemic levels

Saturday, February 3, 2024

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has reported that the recovery in air travel persisted throughout December 2023, bringing the total traffic for the year closer to pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, overall traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs), increased by 36.9% compared to 2022. Globally, the full-year 2023 traffic reached 94.1% of pre-pandemic (2019) levels. In December 2023, total traffic rose by 25.3% compared to December 2022, reaching 97.5% of the December 2019 level. The fourth quarter of 2023 saw traffic at 98.2% of 2019 levels, indicating a robust recovery towards the end of the year.

International traffic in 2023 saw a significant climb of 41.6% compared to 2022, reaching 88.6% of 2019 levels. December 2023 international traffic increased by 24.2% over December 2022, reaching 94.7% of the December 2019 level. The fourth quarter international traffic stood at 94.5% of 2019 levels.

Domestic traffic in 2023 experienced a rise of 30.4% compared to the previous year, surpassing the full-year 2019 level by 3.9%. December 2023 domestic traffic increased by 27.0% compared to the same period in the previous year and was 2.3% above December 2019 traffic. The fourth quarter domestic traffic was 4.4% higher than the same quarter in 2019.

Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, emphasized the continued post-pandemic rebound in 2023, with December traffic standing just 2.5% below 2019 levels. He highlighted the need for governments to adopt a strategic approach to maximize the benefits of air travel in the post-pandemic world. This includes providing cost-efficient infrastructure, incentivizing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and implementing regulations with clear cost-benefit outcomes.

The Air Passenger Market in December 2023 showed positive year-on-year changes globally, with varying performances across regions. In the international passenger markets, Asia-Pacific led with a 126.1% rise in full-year 2023 traffic compared to 2022, maintaining the strongest year-over-year rate. European carriers saw a 22.0% increase in full-year traffic, with December traffic surpassing the corresponding month in 2019 for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Middle Eastern airlines experienced a 33.3% traffic rise in 2023, and North American carriers reported a 28.3% annual traffic increase. Latin American airlines posted a 28.6% rise, and African airlines saw a 38.7% increase in annual traffic.

In the domestic passenger markets, China’s full-year domestic traffic rose by 138.8% compared to 2022, surpassing the 2019 level by 7.1%. Australia and Japan were the only major domestic markets yet to recover pre-pandemic traffic demand.

The Air Passenger Market Overview for December 2023 indicated a global year-on-year decrease of -5.9% in total market RPKs compared to the same month in 2019. International traffic declined by -11.4%, while domestic traffic increased by 3.9% over December 2019 levels.

The statistics, compiled by IATA Economics, represent a positive trend in air travel recovery, highlighting the importance of continued strategic measures to support the industry’s growth and sustainability.

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