MAYDAY ! Air traffic plunges 53% in March

Global air traffic demand, measured by RPKs, fell 52.9% in March, the largest decline in recent history, to return seasonally-adjusted global passenger volumes to levels last seen in 2006.
Severe declines of at least 40% were felt in all regions, although Asia Pacific (-59.9%) and Europe (-51.8%) experienced the worst falls.
Capacity declined 36.2% resulting in a 21ppt fall in the load factor to 60.6%.
IATA’s Director General said “March was a disastrous month for aviation”, adding “Worse, we know that the situation deteriorated even more in April and most signs point to a slow recovery.”

The March data reveals the full extent of the global lockdown restrictions on air traffic volumes, following the 14% fall in global RPKs in February which was driven by a 40% decline in APAC.
The recovery is not expected to be V-shaped given passengers will likely be reluctant to fly immediately following the lifting of travel restrictions, particularly on international routes, and the slow easing of restrictions.
In a recent IATA survey, 40% of respondents said they would wait at least 6 months before flying again.
As a reminder, IATA forecasts global RPKs to decline 48% in 2020