GLOBAL passenger traffic for 2019, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), rose by 4.2% year-on-year, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
However, this was a slowdown compared to the 7.3% annual growth recorded in 2018, making 2019 the first year that passenger demand fell below the long-term trend of around 5.5% annual growth since the 2009 global financial crisis.
According to IATA, the full-year capacity recorded an increase of 3.4% while the load factor rose 0.7 percentage point, which pointed to a record high of 82.6% against the previous high of 81.9% notched in 2018.
IATA’s director-general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said airlines did well to maintain steady growth last year in the face of various challenges.
“A softer economic backdrop, weak global trade activity and political and geopolitical tensions took their toll on-demand,” he said in a statement today (Feb 7).
De Juniac said international passenger traffic increased 4.1% from 2018, while domestic air travel perked 4.5%, with all markets showing annual growth, led by China and Russia.
He explained that 2019 was a difficult year for the aviation sector with 2020 off to a tragic and challenging beginning due to the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak.
“There currently is no advice from World Health Organisation to restrict travel or trade but it is clear that demand has fallen on routes associated with China, and airlines are responding to this by cutting capacity for both domestic and international China.
“The situation is evolving fast, but we are observing significant schedule adjustments for February,” De Juniac said. – Feb 7, 2020, Bernama
