Air travel is moving “ever closer” to surpassing 2019’s peak year, says IATA, with recovery making major strides last November.

According to new data released for November 2023, air travel demand topped 99% of 2019 levels. Total traffic for the month (measured in revenue passenger kilometres, or RPKs) rose 29.7% compared to November 2022. Globally, traffic is now at 99.1% of November 2019 levels.

International traffic rose 26.4% versus November 2022, with the Asia-Pacific region reporting the strongest year-over-year results (+63.8%). All regions, however, showed improvement compared to the prior year. In November 2023, international RPKs reached 94.5% of November 2019 levels.

Domestic traffic for November 2023 was up 34.8% compared to November 2022. Total November 2023 domestic traffic was 6.7% above the November 2019 level. Growth was particularly strong in China (+272%), while U.S. domestic travel reached a new high, benefitting from strong Thanksgiving holidays demand and expanding +9.1% over November 2019.

North American carriers saw a 14.3% traffic rise in November versus the same period in 2022. Capacity also increased 16.3% while load factor fell 1.4 percentage points to 80.0%.

To read the November report, click here. 

Saurce: Travelweek