African airlines witnessed an increase of 84.8% in Revenue Passenger Kilometre (RPK) in July compared to July 2021.
The passenger capacity of the airlines was up by 46.7%, and the passenger load factor (PLF) climbed 15.5% points to 75.0%, the lowest among regions. While RPK measures actual passenger traffic, PLF is the percentage of the available passenger capacity used.
These were disclosed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) via its Air Passenger Market analysis released on Wednesday and shared with Nairametrics.
Highlights of the analysis
- Total traffic in July 2022 (measured in revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs) was up 58.8% compared to July 2021. Globally, traffic is now at 74.6% of pre-crisis levels.
- Domestic traffic for July 2022 was up 4.1% compared to the year-ago period and is now driving the recovery. Total July 2022 domestic traffic was at 86.9% of the July 2019 level. China saw a strong month-to-month improvement compared to June.
- International traffic rose 150.6% versus July 2021. July 2022 international RPKs reached 67.9% of July 2019 levels. All markets reported strong growth, led by Asia-Pacific.
- African airlines saw an 84.8% rise in July RPKs versus a year ago. July 2022 capacity was up 46.7% and load factor climbed 15.5 percentage points to 75.0%, the lowest among regions.
- African airlines saw cargo volumes decrease by 3.5% in July 2022 compared to July 2021. This was significantly slower than the growth recorded the previous month (5.7%). Capacity was 2.2% below July 2021 levels.
What IATA is saying about recovery
Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, said, “July’s performance continued to be strong, with some markets approaching pre-COVID levels. And that is even with capacity constraints in parts of the world that were unprepared for the speed at which people returned to travel.
“There is still more ground to recover, but this is an excellent sign as we head into the traditionally slower autumn and winter quarters in the Northern Hemisphere.”
Bottom line
- The aviation industry continues to recover as people take advantage of the restored freedom to travel. The pandemic showed that aviation is not a luxury but a necessity in our globalized and interconnected world.
- The industry, though battling with operational challenges like hugh cost of JetA1 fuel, is committed to continuing to meet the demands of people and commerce and to do it sustainably, governments are expected to support operators.
- Governments across the globe are expected to agree to a Long-Term Aspirational Goal (LTAG) of net zero aviation CO2 emissions by 2050 at the upcoming 41st Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
There are both positive and negative sides to this.
Positive because even as airfares rose, more people are able to afford air travel.
However, the negative seem to outweigh the positive. Two reasons are prominent. The rise in continental and national insecurity has made more people resort to local and regional air travel, persons that would otherwise have chosen to save their income by travelling by road or rail. Again, the continued exodus of people from the continent has been at a high unmatched by any other era in African history, save maybe the slave trade era. Definitely, the share of these emigrants carried by African airlines is very significant.