Total demand, measured in passenger kilometers (RPKs), increased 2.6% compared to February 2024. Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASKs), increased 2.0% year-over-year. Load factor in February was 81.1% (+0.4 percentage points compared to February 2024).
International demand increased by 5.6% compared to February 2024. Capacity increased by 4.5% year-on-year, and the load factor was 80.2% (+0.9 percentage points compared to February 2024).
Domestic demand fell 1.9% compared to February 2024. Capacity decreased 1.7% year-on-year. Load factor stood at 82.6% (-0.2 percentage points compared to February 2024).
While traffic growth slowed in February, this is largely due to factors such as the leap year and Lunar New Year holidays, which were celebrated in January compared to February of last year. February traffic reached an all-time high, and the number of scheduled flights is expected to continue to increase in March and April. However, we must closely monitor the developments in North America, where declines were recorded in both domestic and international traffic, stated Willie Walsh, IATA Director General.
The recent closure of Heathrow is a reminder once again that the current passenger rights regime in place across Europe and the UK is not fit for purpose. Annual costs for compensation, care, and assistance run into the billions. Fortunately, the Polish EU Presidency has recognized that this is a drag on European competitiveness and is pushing through much-needed and long-awaited reforms to EU261. While many of the proposed reforms are sensible, the package falls short of a real solution. Even with the reforms, EU261 will continue to penalize airlines, even if the root cause of delays is an infrastructure incident beyond their control, as we saw at Heathrow. Over two decades of EU261, there has been no reduction in delays because infrastructure providers have no incentive to improve. Sadly for European travelers, we are likely to see this situation again during this summer's peak travel season. A genuine reform of EU261 must ensure that all those responsible for delays are held accountable, Walsh said.
Regional Breakdown: International Passenger Markets
International RPK year-over-year growth slowed to 5.6% in February, down from 12.3% in January. However, this growth meant that all regions except North America reached record levels of demand in February.
Asia-Pacific airlines reported a 9.5% year-over-year increase in demand. Capacity increased by 8.3% year-over-year, and load factor stood at 85.7% (+0.9 percentage points compared to February 2024).
European airlines recorded a 5.7% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased by 4.9% year-on-year, and the load factor stood at 75.5% (+0.5 percentage points compared to February 2024).
Middle Eastern airlines experienced a 3.1% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased by 1.3% year-on-year, and load factor stood at 81.9% (+1.4 percentage points compared to February 2024).
North American airlines experienced a year-over-year decline in demand of -1.5%. Capacity decreased by -3.2% year-over-year, and load factor stood at 78.9% (+1.3 percentage points compared to February 2024).
Latin American airlines experienced a 6.7% year-over-year increase in demand. Capacity increased by 9.9% year-over-year. Load factor stood at 81.7% (-2.5 percentage points compared to February 2024).
African airlines experienced a 6.7% year-over-year increase in demand. Capacity increased by 4% year-over-year. Load factor rose to 75.3% (up 2.0 percentage points compared to February 2024).
National passenger markets
Domestic RPK fell 1.9% compared to the previous February. Load factor remained virtually unchanged (-0.2 pp). The decline in traffic in China (-3.2%) was likely due to the Lunar New Year holiday falling in January of this year, compared to February 2024. Declining US consumer confidence may have contributed to the 4.2% drop in US domestic traffic. India maintained strong demand (+13.2%), with a load factor of 90.3% (+1.4 pp compared to February 2024).
Source: IATA.