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Worldwide, domestic travel demand improved in April 2021 compared to March, although it remained well below pre-pandemic levels, while recovery in international passenger travel continued to be stalled in the face of government-imposed travel restrictions, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Total demand for air travel in April 2021 (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) was down 65.4 percent compared to April 2019. That was an improvement over the 66.9 percent decline recorded in March 2021 versus March 2019. The better performance was driven by gains in most domestic markets.
International passenger demand in April was 87.3 percent below April 2019, little changed from the 87.8 percent decline recorded in March 2021 versus two years ago.
Total domestic demand was down 25.7 percent versus pre-crisis levels (April 2019), much improved over March 2021, when domestic traffic was down 31.6 percent versus the 2019 period. As with March, all markets except Brazil and India showed improvement compared to March 2021, with both China and Russia reporting traffic growth compared to pre-COVID-19 levels.
“The continuing strong recovery in domestic markets tells us that when people are given the freedom to fly, they take advantage of it. Unfortunately, that freedom still does not exist in most international markets. When it does, I’m confident we will see a similar resurgence in demand,” Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General said.
Asia-Pacific airlines’ April international traffic was down 94.4 percent compared to April 2019, incrementally improved compared to the 94.9 percent decline registered in March 2021 versus March 2019. The region experienced the steepest traffic declines for a ninth consecutive month. Capacity was down 86.3 percent and the load factor sank 47.7 percentage points to 33.5percent, the lowest among regions.
European carriers saw an 87.7percent decline in traffic in April versus April 2019, barely changed from the 88.2percent decline in March compared to the same month in 2019. Capacity fell 78.2 percent and load factor dropped 37.3 percentage points to 48.4percent.
Middle Eastern airlines posted an 82.9 percent demand drop in April compared to April 2019, which was weaker than the 81.6 percent decline in March, versus the same month in 2019. Capacity declined 65.3percent, and load factor fell 41.1 percentage points to 39.6 percent.
North American carriers’ April demand fell 77.9 percent compared to the 2019 period, an improvement over the 80.9 percent decline in March versus two years ago. Capacity sagged 59.3 percent, and load factor dropped 37.8 percentage points to 45.0 percent.
Latin American airlines experienced an 81.1 percent demand drop in April, compared to the same month in 2019, slightly bettering the 82.1 percent decline in March compared to March 2019. April capacity was down 75.8 percent and load factor dropped 18.0 percentage points to 64.6 percent, which was the highest load factor among the regions for a seventh straight month.
African airlines’ traffic fell 78.3 percent in April versus April two years ago, marking a significant deterioration compared to a 73.7 percent decline recorded in March compared to March 2019. April capacity contracted 64.0 percent versus April 2019, and load factor fell 29.1 percentage points to 43.9 percent.
