The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that passenger demand in September was highly depressed. Total demand (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKS) was 72.8 percent below September 2019 levels (only slightly improved over the 75.2 percent year-to-year decline recorded in August). Capacity was down 63 percent compared to a year ago and load factor fell 21.8 percentage points to 60.1 percent.
International passenger demand in September plunged 88.8 percent compared to September 2019, basically unchanged from the 88.5 percent decline recorded in August. Capacity plummeted 78.9 percent, and load factor withered 38.2 percentage points to 43.5 percent.
Domestic demand in September was down 43.3 percent compared to the previous year, improved from a 50.7 percent decline in August. Compared to 2019, capacity fell 33.3 percent and the load factor dropped 12.4 percentage points to 69.9 percent.
“We have hit a wall in the industry’s recovery. Resurgence in COVID-19 outbreaks—particularly in Europe and the Us—combined with governments’ reliance on the blunt instrument of quarantine in the absence of globally aligned testing regimes has halted momentum toward re-opening borders to travel. Although domestic markets are doing better, this is primarily owing to improvements in China and Russia. And domestic traffic represents just a bit more than a third of total traffic, so it is not enough to sustain a general recovery,” Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’S director-general and CEO, said.
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European carriers’ September demand collapsed 82.5 percent versus a year ago, which was a setback compared to an 80.5 percent decline in August. Europe was the only region to see deterioration in traffic compared to August, owing to renewed infections that led to a wave of border closings. Capacity contracted 70.7 percent and load factor fell by 35.1 percentage points to 51.8 percent.
Asia-pacific airlines’ September traffic sank 95.8 percent compared to the year-ago period, virtually unchanged from a 96.2 percent drop in August. The region continued to suffer from the steepest fall in traffic as flight restrictions have remained stringent with little re-opening of borders. Capacity plummeted 89.6 percent and load factor shrank 46.8 percentage points to 31.7 percent, the lowest among regions.
Middle Eastern airlines posted a 90.2 percent traffic decline for September, improved from a 92.3 percent demand drop in August. Capacity tumbled 78.5 percent, and load factor sank 40.9 percentage points to 34.4 percent.
Also, North American carriers saw a 91.3 percent traffic decline in September, a slight improvement from a 92.0 percent decline in August. Capacity toppled 78.3 percent, and load factor dropped 49.8 percentage points to 33.4 percent.
Latin American airlines faced a 92.2 percent demand drop in September, compared to the same month last year, including a 93.4 percent decline in August versus August 2019. Capacity dived 87.9 percent and load factor dropped 29.3 percentage points to 53.3 percent, highest among the regions.
African airlines’ traffic sank 88.5 percent in September, barely budged from an 88.7 percent drop in August. Capacity contracted 74.7 percent while load factor fell 39.4 percentage points to 32.6 percent, which was the second lowest among regions.
