The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for March 2024 global passenger demand with the following highlights:
- Total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs), was up 13.8% compared to March 2023. Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), was up 12.3% year-on-year. The March load factor was 82.0% (+1.0ppt compared to March 2023).
- International demand rose 18.9% compared to March 2023; capacity was up 18.8% year-on-year and the load factor improved to 81.6% (+0.1ppt on March 2023).
- Domestic demand rose 6.6% compared to March 2023; capacity was up 3.4% year-on-year and the load factor was 82.6% (+2.5ppt compared to March 2023).
Air passenger market in detail – March 2024 | ||||||
World | March 2024 (% year-on-year) | |||||
share1 | RPK | ASK | PLF (%-pt) | PLF (level) | ||
TOTAL MARKET | 100.0% | 13.8% | 12.3% | 1.0% | 82.0% | |
Africa | 2.1% | 10.0% | 12.3% | -1.5% | 72.1% | |
Asia Pacific | 31.7% | 24.2% | 17.9% | 4.3% | 83.5% | |
Europe | 27.1% | 10.6% | 10.2% | 0.3% | 80.9% | |
Latin America | 5.5% | 10.9% | 8.8% | 1.5% | 83.1% | |
Middle East | 9.4% | 10.5% | 13.6% | -2.1% | 77.5% | |
North America | 24.2% | 6.3% | 7.6% | -1.0% | 83.7% | |
1% of industry RPKs in 2023 |
Regional Breakdown – International Passenger Markets
All regions showed strong growth for international passenger markets in March 2024 compared to March 2023. Load factor performance was patchy, falling year-on-year in three of the six regions.
Asia-Pacific airlines continue to lead with way, with a 38.5% year-on-year increase indemand. Capacity increased 37.4% year-on-year and the load factor rose to 85.6% (+0.7ppt compared to March 2023), the highest among all regions. Major routes from Asia-Pacific display outstanding growth, although the number of scheduled air services from China to North America is still only 16.5% of pre-pandemic levels.
European carriers saw an 11.6% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 11.4% year-on-year, and the load factor was 79.9% (up just 0.1ppt compared to March 2023).
Middle Eastern airlines saw a 10.8% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 13.9% year-on-year and the load factor fell -2.1ppt to 77.5% compared to March 2023.
North American carriers saw a 14.5% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 14.8% year-on-year, and the load factor fell to 84.7% (-0.2ppt compared to March 2023).
Latin American airlines saw a 19.7% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity climbed 18.3% year-on-year. The load factor rose to 84.3% (+0.9ppt compared to March 2023).
African airlines saw an8.1% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity was up 11.0% year-on-year. The load factor fell to 70.3% (-1.9ppt compared to March 2023).
Domestic markets
Domestic demand increased at a slower pace in March, moderating to typical pre-pandemic growth rates. China (+17.6% compared to March 2023) continued to be the leading market. Other markets showed stable growth with the exception of Australia. Its drop in growth may reflect the wider economic slowdown in Q1 in the country.
Air passenger market in detail – March 2024 | |||||||
World | March 2024 (% year-on-year) | ||||||
share1 | RPK | ASK | PLF (%-pt) | PLF (level) | |||
Domestic | 39.9% | 6.6% | 3.4% | 2.5% | 82.6% | ||
Dom. Australia | 0.8% | 1.8% | 3.9% | -1.7% | 79.8% | ||
Domestic Brazil | 1.2% | 1.6% | -0.1% | 1.3% | 79.9% | ||
Dom. China P.R. | 11.2% | 17.6% | 5.3% | 8.5% | 80.7% | ||
Domestic India | 1.8% | 3.8% | 3.5% | 0.2% | 85.8% | ||
Domestic Japan | 1.1% | 3.3% | -1.7% | 4.0% | 82.5% | ||
Domestic US | 15.4% | 2.6% | 4.5% | -1.5% | 82.9% | ||
1% of industry RPKs in 2023 | |||||||
Note: the six domestic passenger markets for which broken-down data are available account for approximately 31.4% of global total RPKs and 78.8% of total domestic RPKs | |||||||
Read the latest Passenger Market Analysis.
– IATA –
- IATA (International Air Transport Association) represents some 320 airlines comprising 83% of global air traffic.
- You can follow us at twitter.com/iata for announcements, policy positions, and other useful industry information.
- Fly Net Zero
- Statistics compiled by IATA Economics using direct airline reporting complemented by estimates, including the use of FlightRadar24 data provided under license.
- All figures are provisional and represent total reporting at time of publication plus estimates for missing data. Historic figures are subject to revision.
- Domestic RPKs accounted for about 39.9% of the total market in 2023. The six domestic markets in this report account for 31.4% of global RPKs.
- Explanation of measurement terms:
- RPK: Revenue Passenger Kilometers measures actual passenger traffic
- ASK: Available Seat Kilometers measures available passenger capacity
- PLF: Passenger Load Factor is % of ASKs used.
- IATA statistics cover international and domestic scheduled air traffic for IATA member and non-member airlines.
- Total passenger traffic market shares by region of carriers for 2023 in terms of RPK are: Asia-Pacific 31.7%, Europe 27.1%, North America 24.2%, Middle East 9.4%, Latin America 5.5%, and Africa 2.1%.