Passenger demand up 8% in July, reaches “all-time high,” says IATA

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says that global passenger demand for July was up 8.0% compared to last year and that total capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASK), was up 7.4% year-on-year.

The July load factor was 86.0%, IATA says, noting “no significant negative demand impact” from the CrowdStrike IT outage on July 19.

International demand rose 10.1% compared to July 2023, and while capacity was up 10.5% year-on-year, the load factor fell to 85.9%. The domestic demand rose 4.8% compared to July 2023 and capacity was up 2.8% year-on-year.

North American carriers, for one, saw a 5.3% year-on-year increase in demand, IATA says.

Capacity in North America increased 6.3% year-on-year, while the load factor was 89.4% - the highest among regions.

“July was another positive month. In fact, 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,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general, in a statement.

The winding down of the peak northern summer season is a reminder of how much people depend on flying, Walsh said.

“As the mix of travellers shift from leisure to business, aviation’s many roles are evident—reuniting families, enabling exploration, and powering commerce. People need and want to fly. And they are doing that in great numbers,” he said.

“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.”

Don't miss a single travel story: subscribe to PAX today!  Click here to follow PAX on Facebook.