The post-pandemic recovery in air travel demand continued in September, with global passenger levels rising by just over 30% year-on-year, latest monthly figures from industry group the International Air Transport Association (IATA) show.
The latest data show that international traffic grew by over 31% and domestic traffic jumped by just over 28% – with all geographic areas seeing strong growth.
Globally, air passenger traffic is now at 97.3% of pre-Covid levels.
“The third quarter of 2023 ended on a high note, with record domestic passenger demand for the month of September and continued strong international traffic,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
Mr Walsh said: “With the end of 2023 fast approaching, we can look back on a year of strong recovery in demand as passengers took full advantage of their freedom to travel. There is every reason to believe that this momentum can be maintained in the New Year, despite economic and political uncertainties in parts of the world. But we need the whole value chain to be ready. Supply chain issues in the aircraft manufacturing sector are unacceptable. They have held back the recovery and solutions must be found. The same holds true for infrastructure providers, particularly air navigation service providers. Equipment failures, staffing shortages and labour unrest made it impossible to deliver the flying experience our customers expect. A successful 2024 needs the whole value chain to be fully prepared to handle the demand that is coming.”
