2023-10-06 13:41:47
In August, it was at 95.7% of the 2019 level and over the year, it will rise to 4.35 billion passengers compared to 4.54 in 2019, according to IATA figures.
The page on the covid crisis seems definitively turned in the global sky. According to figures from the World Air Transport Association (IATA), traffic last August was 95.7% of that observed in August 2019. This is an increase of 28.4% compared to August 2022.
For domestic flights, traffic in August is even higher than that of the same month of 2019 with +9.2%, notably thanks to the strong recovery of domestic flights in China.
As for international flights, there is still a little way to go to return to pre-covid levels since traffic is at 88.5% of that of August 2019.
“Year-to-date international traffic is up 50% compared to last year and ticket sales data shows international bookings have strengthened over the latter part of the year “, comments Willie Walsh, Director General of IATA.
Domestic flights above 2019 traffic
Over the entire year, IATA is counting on 4.35 billion passengers compared to 4.54 in 2019. Enough to generate a whopping $9.8 billion in profits for the planet’s airlines compared to cumulative losses of 183 billion between 2020 and 2022.
This return to normal and prospects of an increase in traffic of 5% per year are encouraging companies (particularly Asian) to invest very massively in the renewal of their fleets. For several months, orders have been multiplying, mainly for single-aisle aircraft, both for Airbus (which signed its largest historical order this year with 500 aircraft by IndiGo) and for Boeing.
A few days ago, Air France-KLM placed a “major” order for 50 Airbus A350 long-haul aircraft. For the French national airline alone, this renewal represents “an investment of one billion euros per year”, reveals Anne Rigail, general director of Air France.
Olivier Chicheportiche Journalist BFM Business
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