The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released the passenger market performance for December 2024 and the full year, showing a record high in demand. For the full year, international traffic exceeded the pre-pandemic 2019 levels by 0.5%, with growth seen across all regions. However, capacity was 0.9% lower than in 2019. The load factor for the year increased by 0.5 percentage points, reaching a new record high of 83.2%.
In December, international demand grew by 10.6%, capacity increased by 7.7%, and the load factor improved by 2.2 percentage points compared to December 2023, reaching 83.9%.
“2024 made it absolutely clear that people want to travel. With 10.4% demand growth, travel reached record numbers domestically and internationally. Airlines met that strong demand with record efficiency. On average, 83.5% of all seats on offer were filled—a new record high, partially attributable to the supply chain constraints that limited capacity growth. Aviation growth reverberates across societies and economies at all levels through jobs, market development, trade, innovation, exploration, and much more,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region experienced a significant increase in traffic, with a rise of 26% in 2024 compared to 2023, marking the highest growth rate among all regions. Capacity in the region rose by 24.7%, and the load factor increased by 0.8 percentage points to 83.8%. Despite this strong growth, international revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) in the region remain 8.7% below 2019 levels, suggesting further growth potential. In December 2024, traffic in the Asia-Pacific region rose by 17.1% compared to the same month the previous year.
European airlines saw an annual increase of 9.7% in 2024 traffic compared to 2023, with a 9.2% rise in capacity. The load factor for European carriers increased by 0.4 percentage points to 84.1%. In December, demand grew by 8.6% compared to December 2023.
Middle Eastern airlines reported a 9.4% rise in traffic for 2024, with capacity increasing by 8.4% and a load factor rise of 0.7 percentage points, reaching 80.8%. December 2024 traffic rose 7.7% compared to the same month in 2023.
North American carriers saw a 6.8% increase in annual traffic in 2024, with a 7.4% rise in capacity. The load factor, however, fell by 0.5 percentage points to 84.2%. In December, traffic increased by 5.1% compared to December 2023.
Latin American airlines posted a strong annual traffic increase of 14.4% in 2024, with capacity climbing by 14.3% and a load factor increase of 0.1 percentage points to 84.8%, the highest among all regions. In December, demand in Latin America grew by 11.3% compared to the same month in 2023.
African airlines saw a 13.2% increase in traffic for 2024, with capacity rising by 9.5%. The load factor improved by 2.5 percentage points, reaching 74.5%, the lowest among all regions but still a record high for Africa. December traffic for African airlines rose by 12.4% compared to the previous year.
In the domestic markets, demand reached record highs for passenger numbers and load factors in 2024. China was the standout performer, with domestic RPKs increasing by 12.3% compared to 2023. Other major domestic markets saw stable growth, with Japan achieving a 3.2% increase despite a slight 0.3% contraction in capacity. India, however, saw a slight decline in load factor, dropping by 0.6 percentage points, although it still achieved the highest load factor of 86.4% among all domestic markets.
