African airlines recorded a 10.4% year-on-year increase in international passenger demand for October 2024, marking a significant recovery in the continent’s air travel industry.
This surge in demand highlights the resilience and steady growth of African carriers as they continue to rebound from the global disruptions of previous years.
Capacity in the region also grew by 5.3%, indicating that airlines responded to the increasing demand by either adding more flights or deploying larger aircraft.
The load factor—the percentage of seats filled—rose to 73.2%, up 3.4 percentage points compared to October 2023, reflecting the growing efficiency of African airlines in utilizing their available capacity.
The data was obtained from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) report for international passenger markets in October 2024.
“African airlines saw a 10.4% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity was up 5.3% year-on-year. The load factor rose to 73.2% (+3.4ppt compared to October 2023),” the report read in part.
The global aviation sector saw strong growth in October 2024, with total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), rising 7.1% year-on-year. Capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), increased by 6.1%.
The global load factor reached 83.9%, up 0.8 percentage points from October 2023. International demand rose 9.5%, with capacity increasing by 8.6% and the load factor improving to 83.5%, up 0.6 percentage points.
More insight
The IATA report provided the performance of international passenger markets across various regions for October 2024, showing notable growth in demand, capacity, and load factors globally.
- Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region saw the highest growth in international passenger demand, rising by 17.5% compared to October 2023. Capacity grew by 17.2%, and the load factor increased to 82.9%, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous year.
- European carriers recorded an 8.7% year-on-year increase in international passenger demand. Capacity rose by 7.3%, and the load factor improved to 85.7%, up 1.1 percentage points compared to October 2023.
- Middle Eastern carriers saw a more modest 2.2% increase in international passenger demand, while capacity grew by 2.5%. The region’s load factor rose to 80.2%, but it was down 0.2 percentage points compared to October 2023.
- North American carriers experienced a 3.2% increase in international passenger demand. Capacity increased by 2.9%, and the load factor stood at 84.2%, a 0.3 percentage point improvement compared to the same month last year.
Latin American airlines recorded a 10.9% year-on-year increase in passenger demand for international routes. Capacity grew by 11.6%, and the region’s load factor stood at 85.3%, though it declined by 0.6 percentage points from October 2023.