International air traffic off to healthy start in 2023

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported a surge in international air traffic by 104% in January this year compared to the same month in 2022, with all markets recording strong growth, led by carriers in the Asia-Pacific region. Asia-Pacific airlines posted a 376.3% increase in January 2023 traffic compared to January 2022, by far the strongest year-over-year rate among the regions. IATA said that the capacity rose 167.1% and the load factor increased 36.6 percentage points to 83.3%, the highest among the regions. IATA director-general Willie Walsh said air travel demand is off to a very healthy start in 2023. He added that the many economic and geopolitical uncertainties are not dampening demand for travel.