IATA: Global international pax down 10% in Feb-2020, as COVID-19 starts to impact

IATA reported (02-Apr-2020) the following international passenger traffic highlights for Feb-2020:

• Global: International passenger demand fell 10.1% year-on-year, the worst outcome since the 2003 SARS outbreak and a reversal from the 2.6% traffic increase recorded in Jan-2020. Europe and the Middle East were the only regions to record traffic increases. Capacity fell 5.0%, and load factor plunged 4.2pp to 75.3%.
• Asia Pacific: Traffic plummeted 30.4%, steeply reversing a 3.0% gain recorded in Jan-2020. Capacity fell 16.9% and load factor collapsed to 67.9%, a 13.2pp drop;
• Europe: Demand was virtually flat (+0.2%), the region's weakest performance in a decade. The slowdown was driven by routes to/from Asia, where the growth rate slowed by 25pp in Feb-2020, versus Jan-2020. Demand in markets within Europe performed solidly despite some initial suspensions on the routes to/from Italy. However, Mar-2020 data will reflect the impact of the spread of the coronavirus across Europe and the related disruptions to travel. Feb-2020 capacity rose 0.7%, and load factor slipped 0.4pp to 82.0%, which was the highest among regions;
• Middle East: 1.6% traffic increase, a slowdown from the 5.3% growth reported in Jan-2020 largely owing to a slowdown on Middle East-Asia Pacific routes. Capacity increased by 1.3%, and load factor edged up 0.2pp to 72.6%;
• North America: 2.8% traffic decline, reversing a 2.9% gain in Jan-2020, as international entry restrictions hit home and volumes on Asia-North America routes plunged 30%. Capacity fell 1.5%, and load factor dropped 1.0pp to 77.7%;
• Latin America: 0.4% demand drop, which was an improvement over the 3.5% decline recorded in Jan-2020. However, the spread of the virus and resulting travel restrictions will be reflected in Mar-2020 results. Capacity also fell 0.4% and load factor was flat at 81.3%;
• Africa: Traffic slipped 1.1% in Feb-2020, versus a 5.6% traffic increase in Jan-2020, marking the weakest outcome since 2015. The decline was driven by around a 35% year-on-year traffic fall in the Africa-Asia market. Capacity rose 4.8% and load factor sagged 3.9pp to 65.7%, the lowest among regions. [more - original PR]