Global passenger traffic results for February showed a rebound in traffic growth, following the slower demand experienced in January, which was owing to temporary factors such as the later timing of the Lunar New Year.

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) reported on Thursday that total revenue passenger kilometres had grown by 7.6% year-on-year in February, compared with the 4.6% year-on-year growth recorded in January.

Monthly capacity (available seat kilometres) grew by 6.3% year-on-year in February, while load factor rose to 80.4%, surpassing the previous record of 79.5% that was set in February 2017.  

“As expected, we saw a return to stronger demand growth in February, after the temporary slowdown in January. This is being supported by the robust economic backdrop and solid business confidence.

“However, increases in fuel prices – and labour costs in some countries – will likely temper the amount of traffic stimulation from lower airfares this year,” said Iata director-general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac.

Moreover, February’s international passenger demand rose 7.2%, which is up from the 4.2% increase recorded in January. Led by airlines in Latin America, all regions recorded better year-on-year growth compared with January’s results.

European carriers saw February demand increase by 6.8% year-on-year, compared with the 6% year-on-year growth recorded in January. Passenger volumes were trending upwards at a double-digit yearly rate alongside supportive economic conditions in the region, said Iata.

Further, capacity rose 5% and load factor increased to 82.2% – the highest among all the regions.

Asia-Pacific airlines’ February traffic rose 9.1% year-on-year, with demand supported by healthy regional economic growth and expansion in the number of routes on offer. Capacity increased by 8.4% and load factor increased to 80.5%.

Middle East carriers recorded a 3.4% year-on-year demand increase in February. Capacity rose 3.9% but load factor decreased marginally to 74.1%. Carriers in this region faced significant headwinds over the past year, including the temporary ban on large portable electronic devices, as well as the proposed travel bans to the US from some countries in the region.

North American airlines reported that traffic climbed by 7.2% year-on-year in February, supported by the relatively vigorous US economic backdrop, while the weaker dollar appears to be offsetting some of the negative impacts on inbound travel. Capacity rose 4.6% and load factor went up to 78%.

Latin American carriers posted the fastest year-on-year growth for a second consecutive month, as February’s traffic growth increased by 9.8% year-on-year. Demand continued to recover from the impacts of the severe 2017 hurricane season that affected the region.

Further, capacity increased by 8.9% and load factor rose to 81.5%.

"Aviation in the Latin American region supports jobs for five-million people and $170-billion in gross domestic product. The potential for aviation to do far more exists, but without concerted action by governments to address capacity shortfalls, the region could face an infrastructure crisis in the future,” said De Juniac.

Within the region, Mexico City is the most critical of the bottlenecks. The current airport was designed for 32-million passengers yearly, but serves 47-million. The solution is a new airport which is already under construction. However, its future has been politicised in the current presidential election. The vital need for the new airport needs to be understood by all, added De Juniac.  

Moreover, African airlines experienced a 6.3% year-on-year rise in traffic in February. The growth occurred amid an improving regional economic backdrop. Business confidence in Nigeria, especially, has risen over the past 15 months, while a reduction in political uncertainty in South Africa contributed to an improvement in business confidence.

Capacity rose 3.3% and load factor rose to 67.8%.