KUALA LUMPUR – Total global traffic for air travel in July 2022, measured in revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs, was up 58.8% compared with July 2021, primarily driven by the ongoing strong recovery in international traffic, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) said.
Iata said in a statement that global traffic is now at 74.6% of pre-crisis levels.
“Domestic traffic for July 2022 was up 4.1% compared with a year ago and is now driving recovery.
“Total July 2022 domestic traffic was at 86.9% of the July 2019 level. China saw strong month-to-month improvement compared to June,” it said.
It said international traffic rose 150.6% versus July 2021 and July 2022 international RPKs reached 67.9% of July 2019 levels with all markets reporting strong growth led by Asia-Pacific.
Director-general Willie Walsh said July’s performance continued to be strong with some markets approaching pre-Covid-19 levels 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.”
He said aviation continued to recover as people took 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,” he added. – Bernama, September 7, 2022