According to data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) African airlines’ annual passenger traffic rose 13.2% in 2024 compared with load factors from the previous year.
Africa’s full-year capacity for 2024 was up 9.5% and the load factor climbed 2.5 percentage points to 74.5%.
Although this figure is the lowest among all other regions, it is indeed a record high for Africa.
Moreover, in December 2024 traffic for African airlines rose 12.4% compared with December 2023.
This is good news for the African continent which is home to a large population but only a small portion of global aviation.
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INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES LOAD FACTORS 2024
Full-year international traffic surpassed the previous 2019 high by 0.5% in 2024, with growth in all regions.
However, capacity was 0.9% lower than 2019. The load factor improved by 0.5 percentage points, finishing on 83.2%, a record high.
“2024 made it absolutely clear that people want to travel. With 10.4% demand growth, travel reached record numbers domestically and internationally. Airlines met that strong demand with record efficiency. On average, 83.5% of all seats on offer were filled—a new record high, partially attributable to the supply chain constraints that limited capacity growth. Aviation growth reverberates across societies and economies at all levels through jobs, market development, trade, innovation, exploration, and much more,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
REGIONAL DATA
Asia-Pacific airlines posted a 26.0% rise in full year international 2024 traffic compared to 2023, maintaining the strongest year-over-year rate among the regions. Capacity rose 24.7% and the load factor climbed 0.8 percentage points to 83.8%. Despite this strong growth, opportunities for further growth remain high, as international RPKs remain 8.7% below 2019 levels.
December 2024 traffic rose 17.1% compared to December 2023.
European carriers’ full year traffic climbed 9.7% versus 2023. Capacity increased 9.2%, and load factor rose 0.4 percentage points to 84.1%.
For December, demand climbed 8.6% compared to the same month in 2023.
Middle Eastern airlines saw a 9.4% traffic rise in 2024 compared to 2023. Capacity increased 8.4% and load factor climbed 0.7 percentage points to 80.8%.
December demand climbed 7.7% compared to the same month in 2023.
North American carriers reported a 6.8% annual traffic rise in 2024 compared to 2023. Capacity increased 7.4%, and load factor fell -0.5 percentage points to 84.2%.
December 2024 traffic rose 5.1% compared to the year-ago period.
Latin American airlines posted a 14.4% traffic rise in 2024 over the full year 2023. Annual capacity climbed 14.3% and load factor increased 0.1 percentage points to 84.8%, the highest among the regions.
December demand climbed 11.3% compared to December 2023.
African airlines’ annual traffic rose 13.2% in 2024 versus the prior year. Full year 2024 capacity was up 9.5% and load factor climbed 2.5 percentage points to 74.5%, the lowest among regions but a record high for Africa.
December 2024 traffic for African airlines rose 12.4% over December 2023.
