Iata, the international airlines organisation, has reported that total demand for air travel – measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) – was up 7.1% year on year last month, an all-time high for September.
Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASK), was up by 5.8% and the overall September load factor was 83.6%, up by one percentage point compared to September 2023.
Willie Walsh, Iata’s director general, hailed the growth but reiterated his warning about constrained capacity in many regions.
“The year’s peak travel season ended with demand at an all-time high. This is good news not just for passengers but also for the global economy,” he said.
“Every flight creates more jobs and trade. But the air travel success story is bringing challenges.
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“We will soon face a capacity crunch in some regions which threatens to curtail these economic and social benefits.
“Governments will face a choice: lose out to more dynamic nations who value global connectivity or forge a consensus for sustainable growth.
“Airlines are making significant investments to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“That needs to be accompanied by an equally active political vision, backed up by actions, to ensure we have efficient and sufficient airport and air traffic management capacity to meet the needs of citizens and businesses to travel.”
Iata said all regions showed growth for international passenger markets in September 2024 compared to September 2023.
However, load factors were “a mixed bag”, Iata noted. Europe had the highest load factors, and Asia and African carriers also improved, but the Americas and the Middle East suffered falls.
European carriers saw a 7.6% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 7.4% year on year and the load factor was 85.9%, up by 0.2 percentage points compared to September 2023.
Overall, international demand rose 9.2% compared to September 2023. Capacity was up 9.1% and the load factor rose to 83.8% up by 0.1 percentage points compared to September 2023.
Domestic demand rose 3.7% compared to September 2023, while capacity was up 0.7% year-on-year. The average domestic load factor was 83.3%, up 2.4 percentage points compared to September 2023.