Sluggish Improvement in Passenger Demand Continues in July
Geneva, Switzerland / AIRLINEHUB / The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that passenger demand in July (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs), continued at critically low levels–79.8% below July 2019 levels. This was somewhat better than the 86.6% year-over-year decline recorded in June, primarily driven by domestic markets, most notably Russia and China. Market reopening in the Schengen Area helped to boost international demand in Europe, but other international markets showed little change from June. Capacity was 70.1% below 2019 levels and load factor sagged to a record low for July, at 57.9%.
“The crisis in demand continued with little respite in July. With essentially four in five air travelers staying home, the industry remains largely paralyzed. Governments reopening and then closing borders or removing and then re-imposing quarantines does not give many consumers confidence to make travel plans, nor airlines to rebuild schedules,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
International Passenger MarketsJuly international passenger demand collapsed 91.9% compared to July 2019, a slight improvement over the 96.8% decline recorded in June. Capacity plummeted 85.2%, and load factor sank 38.9 percentage points to 46.4%.
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Domestic Passenger MarketsDomestic traffic fell 57.5% in July. This was an improvement compared to a 68% decline in June. Domestic capacity fell 42.2% and load factor dropped 22.9 percentage points to 63.3%.
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