Airline Passenger Traffic Up Over 50 Percent in September

New data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) found that passenger traffic in September was over 50 percent higher than last year.

The IATA revealed total traffic in September 2022 rose 57 percent compared to September 2021, bringing global traffic to 73.8 percent of September 2019 levels.

Worldwide domestic traffic for September was up 6.9 percent compared to 2021, reaching 81 percent of the September 2019 level. United States domestic traffic climbed 16.8 percent in September compared to last year, pushing it to 0.4 percent above the September 2019 level.

North American carriers had a 128.9 percent traffic rise in September versus the 2021 period, with capacity increasing 63 percent and load factor climbing 24.6 percentage points to 85.4 percent.

International traffic climbed 122.2 percent versus September 2021, reaching 69.9 percent of September 2019 levels. All markets reported strong growth, led by Asia-Pacific.

“Even with economic and geopolitical uncertainties, the demand for air transport continues to recover ground,” IATA Director General Willie Walsh said. “The outlier is still China with its pursuit of a zero COVID strategy keeping borders largely closed and creating a demand roller coaster ride for its domestic market, with September being down 46.4% on the previous year.”

“That is in sharp contrast to the rest of Asia-Pacific, which, despite China’s dismal performance, posted a 464.8% increase for international traffic compared to the year-ago period,” Walsh continued.

Travel in the U.S. just got a bit cheaper, as well, with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announcing last week that enrollment and renewal costs for TSA PreCheck would be reduced.