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IATA charts show airline RPKs edging closer to 2019 levels
November 28th 2023
The airline sector is within touching distance of returning to 2019 levels for revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) – a key measure of demand – figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) show. Read More » The airline lobby group said RPKs, rose by 28.3% in the three months to September 30 2023, compared with the same three months in 2022, buoyed by the strong performance of domestic markets. This put overall passenger traffic at 96.3% of 2019 levels. "The September quarter saw a continuation of the strong passenger traffic recovery," the airline lobby group said. "This recovery was driven predominantly by resilient domestic markets." IATA said domestic RPKs were at 107.4% of pre-COVID-19 levels, with key markets the Brazil, China, India and the U.S. above 100% of 2019 RPKs in the third quarter. "China stood out with a doubling of domestic traffic compared to 2022, and a 17.4% increase over 2019 levels," IATA said. Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region were at 91.5% of 2019 RPKs.
