Air transport reaches new heights in 2024 with close to five billion passengers

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released their 2024 full-year passenger market performance, showing record high demand cumulating in a total of 4.89 billion passengers worldwide.

While exact passengers numbers have not been confirmed yet, IATA released 2024 data measured in revenue passengers kilometers (RPK) as well as total capacity in available seat kilometers (ASK). The first indicator points to a growth of 10.4% compared to 2023. This was 3.8% above pre-pandemic (2019) levels. The second indicator shows growth of 8.7% in 2024. The overall load factor reached 83.5%, a record for full-year traffic. Highlighting the result, IATA’s Director General Willie Walsh said that “2024 made it absolutely clear that people want to travel. Airlines met that strong demand with record efficiency.”

By continent, Asia Pacific airlines continued to catch up in terms of demand, achieving a 16.9% year-on-year increase in RPK. They particularly enjoyed a 26.0% rise in international traffic in 2024 compared to 2023. Africa also grew above the industry average, ranking second with growth of 13.2% in RPK. They were followed by strong growth in Middle-East carriers (+9.5%), European airlines (+8.7%) and Latin America (+7.8%). North American airlines saw a 4.6% year-on-year growth. Worldwide, international air traffic in 2024 increased 13.6% compared to 2023, and capacity rose 12.8%.

“Looking to 2025, there is every indication that demand for travel will continue to grow, albeit at a moderated pace of 8.0% that is more aligned with historical averages”, said Mr Walsh. He pledged that airlines are firmly committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and underlined that they will need governmental intervention to help combat the short supply and high prices in Sustainable Aviation Fuel.

Photo: © Jue Huang for Unsplash