The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced passenger data for July 2022 showing that the recovery in air travel continues to be strong. Total traffic in July 2022 (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) was up 58.8% compared to July 2021. Globally, traffic is now at 74.6% of pre-crisis levels.
Domestic traffic for July 2022 was up 4.1% compared to the year-ago period and is now driving the recovery. Total July 2022 domestic traffic was at 86.9% of the July 2019 level. China saw strong month-to-month improvement compared to June.
International traffic rose 150.6% versus July 2021. July 2022 international RPKs reached 67.9% of July 2019 levels. All markets reported strong growth, led by Asia-Pacific.
"July's performance continued to be strong, with some markets approaching pre-COVID levels. And that is even with capacity constraints in parts of the world that were unprepared for the speed at which people returned to travel," said Willie Walsh, IATA's Director General.
"There is still more ground to recover, but this is an excellent sign as we head into the traditionally slower autumn and winter quarters in the Northern Hemisphere."
Regional data on air travel recovery:
-- Asia-Pacific airlines posted a 528.8% rise in July traffic compared to July 2021, the strongest year-over-year rate among the regions. Capacity rose 159.9% and the load factor was up 47.1 percentage points to 80.2%.
-- North American carriers had a 129.2% traffic rise in July versus the 2021 period. Capacity rose 79.9%, and load factor climbed 19.4 percentage points to 90.3%, the highest among the regions for a second month.
-- European carriers saw July traffic rise 115.6% versus July 2021. Capacity rose 64.3%, and load factor climbed 20.6 percentage points to 86.7%, second highest among the regions.
-- Middle Eastern airlines' traffic climbed 193.1% in July compared to July 2021. July capacity rose 84.1% versus the year-ago period, and load factor climbed 30.5 percentage points to 82.0%.
-- Latin American airlines' July traffic rose 119.4% compared to the same month in 2021. July capacity rose 92.3% and load factor increased 10.5 percentage points to 85.2%.
-- African airlines saw an 84.8% rise in July RPKs versus a year ago. July 2022 capacity was up 46.7% and load factor climbed 15.5 percentage points to 75.0%, the lowest among regions.
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