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Washington, US | AGENCIES | A report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), has revealed that African airlines’ annual traffic rose 13.2 per cent in 2024 compared to the previous year.
The report however put the total full-year traffic in 2024 (measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPKs) at 10.4 per cent increase, compared to 2023.
The IATA’s 2024 full-year and December 2024 passenger market performance showed that that Africa’s full year 2024 capacity was up 9.5 per cent, while its load factor climbed 2.5 percentage points to 74.5 per cent.
The association, however, said that the African’s performance was still the lowest among other regions across the world, but was a record high for the continent.
It added that December 2024 traffic for African airlines rose 12.4 per cent over December 2023.
The report emphasised that total full-year traffic in 2024, measured in RPKs rose 10.4 per cent compared to 2023.
It said this was 3.8 per cent above pre-pandemic (2019) levels.
It also said total capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometers (ASK), was up 8.7 per cent in 2024, while the overall load factor reached 83.5 per cent, a record for full-year traffic.
It stressed that international full-year traffic in 2024 increased 13.6 per cent compared to 2023, and capacity rose 12.8 per cent.
Besides, IATA maintained domestic full-year traffic for 2024 rose 5.7 per cent compared to the prior year, while capacity expanded by 2.5 per cent.
December 2024 was a strong finish to the year with overall demand rising 8.6 per cent year-on-year, and capacity grew by 5.6 per cent.
Also, international demand rose by 10.6 per cent and domestic demand by 5.5 per cent within the period, while the December load factor reached 84 per cent, a record for the month.
Performances from other regions, indicated that the Asia-Pacific airlines posted a 26 per cent rise in full year international 2024 traffic compared to 2023, maintaining the strongest year-over-year rate among the regions.
Its capacity rose 24.7 per cent and the load factor climbed 0.8 percentage points to 83.8 per cent.
Despite this strong growth, opportunities for further growth remain high, as international RPKs remain 8.7 per cent below 2019 levels and the December 2024 traffic rose 17.1 per cent compared to December 2023.
For European carriers,’ their full year traffic climbed 9.7 per cent versus 2023 and capacity increased 9.2 per cent, and load factor rose 0.4 percentage points to 84.1 per cent.
December demand for the region, climbed 8.6 per cent compared to the same month in 2023.
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Middle Eastern airlines saw a 9.4 per cent traffic rise in 2024 compared to 2023.
Capacity increased 8.4 per cent and load factor climbed 0.7 percentage points to 80.8 per cent.
Besides, the airlines’ December demand climbed 7.7 per cent compared to the same month in 2023.
North American carriers reported a 6.8 per cent annual traffic rise in 2024 compared to 2023. Capacity increased 7.4 per cent, and load factor fell -0.5 percentage points to 84.2 per cent.
December 2024 traffic rose 5.1 per cent compared to the year-ago period.
Latin American airlines posted a 14.4 per cent traffic rise in 2024 over full year 2023.
Annual capacity climbed 14.3 per cent and load factor increased 0.1 percentage points to 84.8 per cent, the highest among the regions.
The December demand climbed 11.3 per cent compared to December 2023.
Commenting on the development, Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director-General, said that 2024 made it absolutely clear that people wanted to travel.
With 10.4 per cent demand growth, travel reached record numbers domestically and internationally, Walsh said.
According to him, airlines met that strong demand with record efficiency, noting that on average, 83.5 per cent of all seats on offer were filled—a new record high, partially attributable to the supply chain constraints that limited capacity growth.
He said: “Aviation growth reverberates across societies and economies at all levels through jobs, market development, trade, innovation, exploration, and much more.
“Looking to 2025, there is every indication that demand for travel will continue to grow, albeit at a moderated pace of 8 per cent that is more aligned with historical averages. The desire to partake in the freedom that flying makes possible brings some challenges into sharp focus.”
Also commenting on the passenger plane and military helicopter crash of Wednesday in Washington, United States, Walsh said that the tragic accident showed that there was still the need to improve on safety in the industry and sympathised with the families affected.
He vowed that IATA would continue to ensure the industry was safer for all.
“Second is the airlines’ firm commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. While airlines invested record amounts in purchases of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in 2024, less than 0.5 per cent of fuel needs were meet with SAF. SAF is in short supply and costs must come down.
“Governments could fortify their national energy security and unblock this problem by prioritizing renewable fuel production from which SAF is derived. In addition to securing energy supplies and increasing the SAF supply, diverting a fraction of the subsidies given for fossil fuel extraction to support renewable energy capacity would also boost prosperity through economic expansion and job creation,” he added.
