In June, 2023, Africa’s airlines , contributed just 2.1 percent to global passenger traffic in the last 12 months, International Air Transport Association (IATA) disclosed.
Despite a notable traffic increase of 34.7 percent in the past year, Africa’s airlines recorded the lowest load factor among all regions at 68.1 percent, while maintaining their recovery momentum, reported as reported by local newspaper..
Based on the most recent analysis by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Europe maintained its position as the global leader in passenger share over the past year, with 30.8 percent, followed closely by North America at 28.8 percent.
This data is based on traffic and capacity information for June 2023.
The remaining regions in terms of global passenger share include Asia Pacific at 22.1 percent, the Middle East at 9.8 percent, and Latin America at 6.4 percent.
In contrast, the report highlighted that Africa was the sole region experiencing a decrease in the monthly international load factor when compared to the same period last year.
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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) represents 300 airlines, which collectively account for 83 percent of global air traffic.
More reports reveal the total traffic in June 2023 experienced a 31.0 percent increase compared to June 2022, putting global traffic at 94.2 percent of pre-COVID levels. Also, for the first half of 2023, total traffic saw a significant rise of 47.2 percent compared to the same period last year.
Domestic traffic for June rose 27.2 per cent compared to the same month a year ago and was 5.1 per cent above the June 2019 results. Domestic demand was up 33.3 per cent in the 2023 first half compared to a year ago.
However, the international sector experienced notable variations in terms of progress compared to Africa.
International traffic climbed 33.7 per cent versus June 2022 with all markets showing robust growth. International RPKs reached 88.2 per cent of June 2019 levels. First half 2023 international traffic was up 58.6 per cent over the first half of 2022.
Willie Walsh, Director General of IATA said “The northern summer travel season got off to a strong start in June with double-digit demand growth and average load factors topping 84 percent.
“Planes are full, which is good news for airlines, local economies, and travel and tourism-dependent jobs. All benefit from the industry’s ongoing recovery
“As strong as travel demand has been, arguably it could be even stronger. Demand is outrunning capacity growth. Well documented problems in the aviation supply chain mean that many airlines have not taken delivery of all the new, more environmentally friendly aircraft they had expected, while numerous aircraft are parked awaiting critical spare parts.”
