IATA: European demand for flights hits ‘all time high’

Air passenger demand in Europe rose by 7.2 per cent in July compared with the same month in 2023, according to the latest figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Total demand for flights in Europe during July, as measured by revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs), was slightly behind the global year-on-year average increase of 8 per cent for the month, which was boosted by the continued strong recovery in the Asia Pacific region.

The rise in demand for flights in Europe was fuelled by a 7 per cent increase in capacity in July, as measured by available seat kilometres (ASKs). Globally, airline capacity was up by 7.4 per cent year-on-year during the month.

IATA said there was an 8.3 per cent year-on-year rise in demand for international flights in Europe during July, which was ahead of a capacity increase of 8.1 per cent. Load factor improved slightly to 87.5 per cent, up by 0.2 percentage points compared with July 2023.

Europe-Asia routes saw a year-on-year increase in RPKs of 20.1 per cent in July, which reflects that this market “is still to surpass 2019 levels”. Demand between Europe and South America also rose by 14.5 per cent year-on-year, while transatlantic services to North America went up by 5 per cent.

Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general, said: “Passenger demand hit an all-time high for the industry and in all regions, except Africa, despite significant disruption caused by the CrowdStrike IT outage.”

The association reported that CrowdStrike IT incident, which forced the cancellation of thousands of flights around the world in mid-July, had caused “no significant negative demand impact” during the month.

“People need and want to fly, and they are doing that in great numbers,” added Walsh. “Load factors are at the practicable maximum but persistent supply chain bottlenecks have made deploying the capacity to meet the need to travel more challenging.

“As much of the world returns from vacation, there is an urgent call for manufacturers and suppliers to resolve their supply chain issues so that air travel remains accessible and affordable to all those who rely on it.”