The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced full-year global passenger traffic results for 2020 showing that air travel demand (revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) fell by 65.9% compared to the full year of 2019, by far the sharpest traffic decline in aviation history.
Furthermore, forward bookings have been falling sharply since late December.
“Last year was a catastrophe. There is no other way to describe it. What recovery there was over the Northern hemisphere summer season stalled in autumn and the situation turned dramatically worse over the year-end holiday season, as more severe travel restrictions were imposed in the face of new outbreaks and new strains of COVID-19.” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
| 2020 CALENDAR YEAR | WORLD SHARE1 | RPK | ASK | PLF (%-PT)2 | PLF (LEVEL)3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Market | 100.0% | -65.9% | -56.5% | -17.8% | 64.80% |
| Africa | 1.9% | -68.8% | -61.0% | -14.4% | 57.4% |
| Asia Pacific | 38.6% | -61.9% | -53.9% | -14.3% | 67.5% |
| Europe | 23.6% | -69.9% | -62.1% | -17.4% | 67.8% |
| Latin America | 5.7% | -62.1% | -58.3% | -7.7% | 74.9% |
| Middle East | 7.4% | -72.2% | -63.3% | -18.5% | 57.6% |
| North America | 22.7% | -65.2% | -50.2% | -25.6% | 59.2% |
1) % of industry RPKs in 2020 2) Year-on-year change in load factor 3) Load Factor Level
Asia-Pacific airlines’ full-year traffic plunged 80.3% in 2020 compared to 2019, which was the deepest decline for any region. It fell 94.7% in the month of December amid stricter lockdowns, little changed from a 95% decline in November. Full year capacity was down 74.1% compared to 2019. Load factor fell 19.5 percentage points to 61.4%.
European carriers saw a 73.7% traffic decline in 2020 versus 2019. Capacity fell 66.3% and load factor decreased 18.8 percentage points to 66.8%. For the month of December, traffic slid 82.3% compared to December 2019, an upturn over the 87% year-to-year decline in November reflecting pre-holiday momentum that was reversed toward the end of the month.
Middle Eastern airlines’ annual passenger demand in 2020 was 72.9% below 2019. Annual capacity fell 63.9% and load factor plummeted 18.9 percentage points to 57.3%. December’s traffic was down 82.6% compared to December 2019, improved from an 86.1% drop in November.
North American airlines’ full year traffic fell 75.4% compared to 2019. Capacity dropped 65.5%, and load factor sank 23.9 percentage points to 60.1%. December demand was down 79.6% compared to the same month a year-ago, a pick-up over an 82.8% drop in November reflecting a holiday surge.
Latin American airlines had a 71.8% full year traffic decline compared to 2019, making it the best performing region after Africa. Capacity fell 67.7% and load factor dropped 10.4 percentage points to 72.4%, by far the highest among regions. Traffic fell 76.2% for the month of December compared to December 2019, somewhat improved from a 78.7% decline in November.
African airlines’ traffic fell 69.8% last year compared to 2019, which was the best performance among regions. Capacity dropped 61.5%, and load factor sank 15.4 percentage points to 55.9%, lowest among regions. Demand for the month of December was 68.8% below the year-ago period, well ahead of a 75.8% decline in November. Carriers in the region have benefitted from somewhat less severe international travel restrictions compared to the rest of the world.
| 2020 CALENDAR YEAR (%YEAR-ON-YEAR) | WORLD SHARE1 | RPK | ASK | PLF (%-PT)2 | PLF (LEVEL)3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | 54.3% | -48.8% | -35.7% | -17.0% | 66.6% |
| Dom. Australia | 0.7% | -69.5% | -62.8% | -14.7% | 66.1% |
| Dom. Brazil | 1.6% | -49.0% | -47.4% | -2.4% | 80.3% |
| Dom. China P.R. | 19.9% | -30.8% | -19.7% | -11.7% | 72.9% |
| Dom India | 2.1% | -55.6% | -48.0% | -12.8% | 74.6% |
| Dom. Japan | 1.4% | -53.6% | -32.7% | -22.9% | 50.9% |
| Dom. Russian Fed. | 3.4% | -23.5% | -12.6% | -10.3% | 72.9% |
| Dom. US | 16.6% | -59.6% | -41.4% | -26.4% | 58.8% |
1) % of industry RPKs in 2020 2) Year-on-year change in load factor 3) Load Factor Level
China’s domestic passenger traffic fell 30.8% in 2020 compared to 2019. It was down 7.6% for the month of December versus December a year-ago period, which was a deterioration compared to a 6.3% decline in November amid new outbreaks and resulting restrictions.
Russia’s domestic traffic fell 23.5% for the full year, but 12% for the month of December, much improved over a 23% decline in November. Full year results were supported by booming domestic tourism over the summer and falling fares.
“Optimism that the arrival and initial distribution of vaccines would lead to a prompt and orderly restoration in global air travel have been dashed in the face of new outbreaks and new mutations of the disease. The world is more locked down today than at virtually any point in the past 12 months and passengers face a bewildering array of rapidly changing and globally uncoordinated travel restrictions. We urge governments to work with industry to develop the standards for vaccination, testing, and validation that will enable governments to have confidence that borders can reopen and international air travel can resume once the virus threat has been neutralized. The IATA Travel Pass will help this process, by providing passengers with an App to easily and securely manage their travel in line with any government requirements for COVID-19 testing or vaccine information. In the meantime, the airline industry will require continued financial support from governments in order to remain viable,” said de Juniac.
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