The boss of Iata, the international airlines organisation, has again warned legislators about the pitfalls of aviation taxes, as passenger demand continued to rise last month.
Iata figures for October 2024 show that global passenger demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), was up 7.1% compared to October 2023.
Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASK), was up 6.1% year-on-year. The October load factor was 83.9%, up 0.8 percentage points compared to October 2023.
Willie Walsh, Iata director general, said: “Continued strong and stable demand is good news, but just as important is the steady improvement in load factors. It shows what
a great job the industry is doing in flying people more efficiently.
“Average seat factors have risen from around 67% in the 1990s to over 83% today.
“Politicians thinking of trying to tax passengers off planes to reduce emissions would do well to note this.
“Even if fewer people fly because taxes make it too expensive, it doesn’t automatically mean reduced emissions because the planes will still fly, just with fewer passengers.
“That would reverse decades’ hard-won progress.
“We need to see the planes full to generate the economic and social benefits of travel with the most minimal emissions possible.”
The figures from Iata also showed international demand rose 9.5% compared to October 2023, while capacity was up 8.6% year-on-year.
Domestic demand rose 3.5% compared to October 2023 and capacity increased 2% year-on-year.
All regions showed growth for international passenger markets in October, compared to October 2023.
Europe had the highest average load factor at 85.7%, and Africa showed a sharp increase, but the Americas and the Middle East suffered falls.