Air Peace and other African airlines recorded a growth of 69.5% in February 2022 Revenue Passengers Kilometres (RPK) compared to the 20.5% year-over-year increase recorded in January.
RPK is a key figure in the airline industry that indicates the number of kilometres travelled by paying passengers. It is calculated by multiplying the number of paying passengers by the total distance travelled.
This was confirmed in a statement issued by IATA and seen by Nairametrics on Thursday. According to the statement, air travel in Nigeria and other African countries grew by 34.7% in February 2022.
What IATA is saying about growth
IATA’s Director-General, Willie Walsh stated, “African airlines had a 69.5% rise in February revenue passenger kilometres versus a year ago, a large improvement compared to the 20.5% year-over-year increase recorded in January 2022 compared to the same month in 2021. February 2022 capacity was up 34.7% and load factor climbed 12.9% points to 63.0%.
“Air travel, globally, posted a strong rebound in February 2022 compared to January 2022, as Omicron-related impacts moderated outside of Asia. The war in Ukraine, which began on 24 February, did not have a major impact on traffic levels.
“The recovery in air travel is gathering steam as governments in many parts of the world lift travel restrictions. States that persist in attempting to lock out the disease, rather than managing it, as we do with other diseases, risk missing out on the enormous economic and societal benefits that restoration of international connectivity will bring.
“As the long-awaited recovery in air travel accelerates, it is important that our infrastructure providers are prepared for a huge increase in passenger numbers in the coming months. We are already seeing reports of unacceptably long lines at some airports owing to the growing number of travellers.
“And that is even before the surge of Easter holiday travel in many markets next week. The peak Northern summer travel season will be critical for jobs throughout the travel and tourism value chain. Now is the time to prepare. Governments can help by ensuring that border positions are staffed adequately and that background security checks for new staff are managed as efficiently as possible.”
Highlights of the IATA report
- Total traffic in February 2022 (measured in revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs) was up 115.9% compared to February 2021. That is an improvement from January 2022, which was up 83.1% compared to January 2021. Compared to February 2019, however, traffic was down 45.5%.
- February 2022 domestic traffic was up 60.7% compared to a year-ago period, building on a 42.6% increase in January 2022 compared to January 2021. There was wide variation in markets tracked by IATA. Domestic traffic in February was 21.8% below the volumes of February 2019.
- International RPKs rose 256.8% versus February 2021, improving from a 165.5% year-over-year increase in January 2022 versus the year-earlier period. All regions improved their performance compared to the prior month. In February 2022 international RPKs were down 59.6% compared to the same month in 2019.
Bottom line
As the long-awaited recovery in air travel accelerates, it is important that aviation infrastructure providers are prepared for a huge increase in passenger numbers in the coming months because the world is already seeing reports of unacceptably long lines at some airports owing to the growing number of travellers.
Now is the time to prepare. Governments can help by ensuring that border positions are staffed adequately and that background security checks for new staff are managed as efficiently as possible.
