Geneva, Aug 8 (EFECOM).- Air passenger traffic increased by 31% in June compared to the same month of the previous year, and was close to pre-pandemic levels (equivalent to 94.2% of that registered in the same month of 2019), according to the latest statistics from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
In the first half of the year, total air traffic was 47.2% higher than in the same period in 2022, indicated the association, which includes more than 300 airlines, and which account for around 80% of the global market.
Traffic on domestic flights in June increased less, 27.2% year-on-year, although in this case it already exceeds pre-pandemic levels, since it was 5.1% higher than in the same month of 2019.
As for the demand for international flights, it grew by 33.7% year-on-year in the month studied and is equivalent to 88.2% before the health crisis.
“The summer travel season is off to a great start, with double-digit demand growth,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who stressed that the figures “mean good news for airlines, local economies and the employment sectors that depend on tourism and travel.
The region where demand increased the most in June was Asia Pacific (90.1%, given the low figures for 2022), while in Europe growth was 13%, in North America 12.9% and in Latin America 18 .7%.
In the large domestic markets of the aviation sector, the strong increase of 129.6% in the traffic of China’s airlines stood out, while in Japan the rise was 33.8%, in the US it was 8%, and in Australia there was a year-on-year decrease of 1.7%.
“Demand has been strong, but it can be stronger still,” Walsh stressed, citing organizational problems meeting demand that in some cases have resulted in delays and cancellations. EFECOM
abc/may
