Global air travel soars more than 55% in February

By Tuba Ongun

ANKARA (AA) – World air traffic posted a 55.5% year-on-year growth in February, despite lingering uncertainty over the global economic outlook, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Air traffic – measured in revenue passenger kilometers, or RPKs – was up to 84.9% of its pre-pandemic level, or 15.1% lower than February 2019.

“Despite the uncertain economic signals, demand for air travel continues to be strong across the globe and particularly in the Asia-Pacific region,” Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general, said in a statement this week.

He stressed that the gap with the pre-pandemic period figure is narrowing every passing month.

While all regions had higher figures compared to last year, Asia-Pacific registered the strongest annual hike of 105.4% in February.

International traffic soared 89.7% from the previous year, with RPKs reaching 77.5% of the February 2019 level.

Domestic air traffic increased 25.2%, nearly catching up to the pre-pandemic levels.

Separate IATA data showed global demand for air cargo, measured in cargo ton-kilometers, fell 7.5% compared to February 2022, but was 2.9% higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Capacity – measured in available cargo ton-kilometers – was up 8.6% compared to February last year.​​​​​​​