International Air Transport Association (IATA) said African airlines witnessed a surge in international air travel demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs).
In its report seen by APA Friday IATA said that African carriers saw a 15.5 percent year-on-year increase in air travel demand in April 2024, highlighting strong growth for international passenger markets.
“The carriers saw demand surge by 15.5 percent in April from the same time last year while capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), was up 10.4% year-on-year,” the report said.
IATA said African carriers’ load factor also showed a significant improvement, increasing by 3.2 points to reach 73.0%.
Globally, total air travel demand jumped by 11.0 percent from April 2023 while capacity rose 9.6 percent, resulting in an improved load factor of 82.4 percent, up by one point.
Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, noted that passenger demand has been growing for 36 consecutive months.
“As we enter the peak northern summer travel season, there is every reason to feel optimistic for a strong summer with airlines offering a wide range of travel options,” the report quoted Walsh as saying.
“97 percent of passengers asked in our recent survey said they were satisfied with their last flight. Every part of the travel value chain needs to be focused on maintaining that,” he added.
MG/as/APA