MENA Newswire News Desk: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has reported a 7.1% year-on-year increase in global passenger demand for October 2024, as measured by revenue passenger kilometers (RPK). This growth reflects continued recovery and resilience in the aviation sector amid global challenges. Capacity, calculated by available seat kilometers (ASK), rose by 6.1% during the same period, contributing to an October load factor of 83.9%, an improvement of 0.8 percentage points compared to October 2023.
IATA’s data further highlights notable growth in both international and domestic passenger markets. International passenger demand increased by 9.5% compared to October 2023, with capacity growing by 8.6% year-on-year. This led to a load factor of 83.5%, up 0.6 percentage points from the previous year. Domestic travel demand grew at a slower pace of 3.5%, while capacity rose 2.0% year-on-year. The domestic load factor reached 84.5%, representing a 1.2 percentage point gain.
Willie Walsh, Director-General of IATA, emphasized the significance of these figures, stating, “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.”
Regional performance varied, with Asia-Pacific carriers leading in demand growth at 17.5% year-on-year, supported by a 17.2% increase in capacity and a load factor of 82.9%. European airlines reported an 8.7% increase in demand, with capacity up 7.3% and the load factor rising to 85.7%.
Middle Eastern carriers recorded a modest 2.2% growth in demand and a 2.5% increase in capacity. However, the load factor dipped slightly to 80.2%, down 0.2 percentage points. North American carriers posted a 3.2% increase in demand alongside a 2.9% rise in capacity, achieving a load factor of 84.2%. Latin American airlines saw a strong 10.9% demand growth, though capacity expanded by a higher margin of 11.6%, resulting in a slight decline in the load factor to 85.3%.
African airlines experienced a robust 10.4% rise in demand, with capacity increasing by 5.3%. This led to a significant load factor improvement, climbing 3.4 percentage points to 73.2%. Despite regional disparities, all markets showed growth in passenger demand, underscoring the ongoing recovery of the aviation industry as it navigates evolving economic and operational dynamics.