Total global air passenger demand in February jumped up by 21.5% compared to February 2023, with international demand climbing 26.3% and domestic demand rising 15.0%, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Thursday.
Total capacity also increased but at a slower pace than demand, with available seat kilometers (ASKs) up 18.7% overall.
“The strong start to 2024 continued in February with all markets except North America reporting double-digit growth in passenger traffic,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general. “There is good reason to be optimistic…as airlines accelerate investments in decarbonization and passenger demand shows resilience.”
However, Walsh cautioned against new travel taxes that could destabilize the industry’s positive momentum and make air travel more expensive, citing Europe as a particular concern.
Meanwhile, demand for international services exceeded pre-pandemic 2019 levels for the first time, but this is skewed as the leap year slightly exaggerates growth in demand and capacity given the extra day.
Regionally, Asia-Pacific airlines led with a 53.2% spike in international demand in February compared to last year. European carriers saw a 15.9% increase, while North American airlines experienced 16.0% growth in demand.
