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Global air traffic topped 95% of pre-Covid levels in July

The boss of Iata is “optimistic” about the sector’s recovery – but warned about turbulence such as the Nats air traffic control “failure fiasco” in the UK last week.

Figures from the airlines trade body for July show that global air passenger traffic is now at 95.6% of pre-Covid levels.

Total traffic in July 2023 rose 26.2% compared to July 2022.

The passenger load factor for the industry reached 85.7% which is the highest monthly international level ever recorded.

European carriers’ July traffic rose 13.8% year-on-year while capacity increased 13.6%, and load factor edged up 0.1 percentage points to 87%.


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Willie Walsh, Iata’s director-general, said: “Planes were full during July as people continue to travel in ever greater numbers. Importantly, forward ticket sales indicate that traveller confidence remains high.

“And there is every reason to be optimistic about the continuing recovery.”

He added: “The northern hemisphere summer is living up to expectations for very strong traffic demand.

“While the industry was largely prepared to accommodate a return to pre-pandemic levels of operations, unfortunately, the same cannot be said for our infrastructure providers.

“Performance of some of the key air navigation services providers, for example, has been deeply disappointing for many reasons from insufficient staffing to the failure fiasco of Nats in the UK. These must be promptly corrected.

“Even more worrying, however, are political decisions by some governments – among them Mexico and the Netherlands – to impose capacity cuts at their major hubs that will most certainly destroy jobs and damage local and national economies.

“The numbers continue to tell us that people want and need air connectivity. That’s why governments should be working with us so that people can travel safely, sustainably and efficiently.”

Last week, Iata warned the Dutch government not to rush through proposed cuts to flight numbers at Amsterdam Schiphol airport while there is a caretaker administration in place.

Picture of Heathrow by 1000 Words/Shutterstock.com

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