African airlines saw an 84.8% rise in July’s total traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) versus a year ago. Also, July 2022 capacity on the continent was up 46.7%, and the load factor climbed 15.5 percentage points to 75%, still the lowest among global regions. These figures are according to passenger data for July 2022 from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) which shows that recovery in air travel continues to be strong.
Meanwhile, total global traffic in July 2022 was up 58.8%, compared to July 2021. Around the world, air traffic is now at 74.6% of pre-crisis levels. Domestic traffic for July 2022 was up 4.1%, compared to the year-ago period, and is now driving the recovery, while July 2022’s total domestic traffic was at 86.9% of the July 2019 level. China saw strong month-to-month improvement, compared to June. Internationally, traffic rose 150.6% versus July 2021. July 2022’s international RPKs reached 67.9% of July 2019 levels as all markets reported strong growth, led by Asia-Pacific.
“July’s performance continued to be strong, with some markets approaching pre-Covid levels. And that is even with capacity constraints in parts of the world that were unprepared for the speed at which people returned to travel. There is still more ground to recover, but this is an excellent sign as we head into the traditionally slower autumn and winter quarters in the Northern Hemisphere,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
He added that aviation continues to recover as people take advantage of their restored freedom to travel.
“The pandemic showed that aviation is not a luxury, but a necessity in our globalised and interconnected world. Aviation is committed to continuing to meet the demands of people and commerce, and to do it sustainably. We have set a goal to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050, which is in line with the targets of the Paris Agreement. Governments will have the opportunity to support our commitment by agreeing to a Long-Term Aspirational Goal (LTAG) of net zero aviation CO2 emissions by 2050 at the upcoming 41st Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). With governments supporting the same goal and timeline, we and our value chain partners can move forward with confidence towards a net zero carbon future,” Walsh said.x