Global air travel hits record in 2024 as post-Covid recovery continues

Photography Viktor Forgacs / Unsplash©

Air passenger transport hit a new record in 2024 as it surpassed the levels seen before the Covid pandemic dealt a severe blow to travel, the world’s leading airline body said on Thursday.

Expressed in the total distance passengers flew, traffic in 2024 rose 10.4 percent from the year before and was 3.8 percent higher than the previous record set in 2019, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a statement.

The organisation, which represents some 340 airlines accounting for more than 80 percent of the world’s air traffic, had already indicated in early December that it expected a record number of passengers in 2024.

That record of 4.89 billion passengers compares with 4.44 billion in 2023 and 4.54 billion in 2019.

In 2020, the height of the health crisis, volumes had collapsed to 1.78 billion.

On average, 83.5 percent of plane seats were filled last year, compared with 82.2 percent in 2023.

Willie Walsh, the IATA’s director general, said the high seat occupancy rates were “partially attributable to the supply chain constraints that limited capacity growth”, suggesting that growth might have been even faster had it not been for delays in plane deliveries.

International travel rose 13.6 percent last year while domestic travel rose a slower 5.7 percent. The fastest growth was in Asia, the IATA said.

“Looking to 2025, there is every indication that demand for travel will continue to grow, albeit at a moderated pace of 8.0 percent that is more aligned with historical averages,” Walsh said.