Travel, Tourism & Hospitality
Global passenger demand growth slows slightly in February
The international passenger demand rose 5.6% in February when compared to the same period last year, said a report. The total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), witnessed a 2.6% growth over 2024, while the load factor was up 80.2%.
The global passenger demand rose 5.6% in February when compared to the same period last year, according to a report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), was up 2.6% compared to February 2024. Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), was up 2.0% year-on-year. The February load factor was 81.1% (+0.4 ppt compared to February 2024), stated IATA in its data released for February 2025
International demand rose 5.6% compared to February 2024. Capacity was up 4.5% year-on-year, and the load factor was 80.2% (+0.9 ppt compared to February 2024).
According to IATA, domestic demand fell 1.9% compared to February 2024. Capacity was down 1.7% year-on-year. The load factor was 82.6% (-0.2 ppt compared to February 2024).
"While traffic growth slowed in February, much of this can be explained by factors including the leap year, and lunar new year falling in January compared to February last year," said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
"February traffic hit an all-time high, and the number of scheduled flights is set to continue increasing in March and April. But we need to keep a close eye on developments in North America, which saw falls in both domestic and international traffic," he noted.
According to Walsh, the recent shut-down of Heathrow reminded the travel industry once again that the current passenger rights regime in place in Europe and the UK is not fit for purpose.
The annual costs of compensation, care and assistance run into the billions. Thankfully, the Polish Presidency of the EU has recognized that this is a drag on European competitiveness and is progressing much-needed and long-anticipated reforms to EU261, he noted.
According to IATA, the Middle Eastern carriers saw a 3.1% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 1.3% year-on-year and the load factor was 81.9% (+1.4 ppt compared to February 2024), it stated.
"While many of the proposed reforms are sensible, the package stops short of a real solution. Even with the reforms, EU261 will still target the airlines with penalties even if the root cause of delays is an infrastructure incident out of their control - like we saw at Heathrow," said Walsh.
International RPK growth moderated to 5.6% in February year-on-year, down from 12.3% growth in January. However, this growth meant that all regions except North America established record February levels of demand.
Asia-Pacific airlines achieved a 9.5% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 8.3% year-on-year and the load factor was 85.7% (+0.9 ppt compared to February 2024).
European carriers had a 5.7% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 4.9% year-on-year, and the load factor was 75.5% (+0.5 ppt compared to February 2024).
North American carriers saw a -1.5% year-on-year fall in demand. Capacity decreased -3.2% year-on-year, and the load factor was 78.9% (+1.3 ppt compared to February 2024).
Latin American airlines saw a 6.7% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity climbed 9.9% year-on-year. The load factor was 81.7% (-2.5 ppt compared to February 2024).
African airlines saw a 6.7% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity was up 4.0% year-on-year. The load factor rose to 75.3% (+2.0 ppt compared to February 2024).
The six domestic passenger markets for which broken-down data are available account for approximately 30.2% of global total RPKs and 79.1% of total domestic RPKs.
"Over two decades of EU261 have not seen a reduction in delays because infrastructure providers have no incentive to improve their game," he stated.
"Sadly for European travellers, we are likely to see this play out again in this summer’s peak travel season. Genuine reform of EU261 must ensure that all parties responsible for delays have a stake in the consequences," he added.-TradeArabia News Service