Total air passenger demand grew by 13.8% in March, in year-on-year (y-o-y) terms, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports. (IATA is the global representative body for the airline sector.) International demand increased by 18.9% and domestic demand by 6.6%. Total passenger capacity went up by 12.3%, with international capacity rising by 18.8% and domestic capacity increasing by 3.4%.

In March, the total load factor came to 82%, which was one percentage point higher than the figure for March 2023. The load factor for international flights was 81.6%, which was a 0.1 percentage point improvement on that for March last year. The domestic load factor was 82.6%, which represented a 2.5 percentage points increase over the March 2023 figure.

“Demand for travel is strong,” highlighted IATA director-general Willie Walsh. “And there is every indication that this should continue into the peak Northern Summer travel season. It is critical that we have the capacity to meet this demand and ensure a hassle-free travel experience for passengers. That means making urgent progress to resolve supply chain issues and for airports and air traffic management to be fully staffed and operating at maximum efficiency.”

The region which recorded the strongest growth in total air passenger traffic in March was the Asia-Pacific, at 24.2%. It was followed by Latin America (10.9%), Europe (10.6%), the Middle East (10.5%), Africa (10%) and North America (6.3%).

In terms of international demand in March, again the Asia-Pacific was in first place, recording a y-o-y jump of 38.5%. Second place was occupied by Latin America, with 19.7%. Then came North America (14.5%), Europe (11.6%), the Middle East (10.8%) and finally Africa (8.1%).

Regarding domestic air travel, the six markets that IATA regularly tracks are Australia, Brazil, China, India, Japan and the US. Between them, they accounted for 78.8% of total domestic air travel. “Domestic demand increased at a slower pace in March, moderating to typical pre-pandemic growth rates,” observed IATA. China showed by far the strongest y-o-y growth in March, at 17.6%. Next came India, at 3.8%, and then Japan, at 3.3%. Fourth place was taken by the US (2.6%), followed by Australia (1.8%) and lastly Brazil (1.6%).