Passenger traffic in Latin America and the Caribbean decreased 87.6% in July

The Air Transport Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (ALTA) announced today that the airlines operating in the Latin American and Caribbean market carried 4.9 million passengers in July, 87.6% less, or -34,855,638 fewer passengers, compared to the previous year. Traffic (RPK) decreased 88.1% and capacity (ASK) decreased 83.3%, taking the load factor to 62.6%, 25.2 percentage points less than in 2019.

1,028,437 passengers traveled to and from Latin America and the Caribbean in July, 92.2% less than the previous year. Traffic (RPK) decreased 88.4% and capacity (ASK) decreased 83.1%, bringing load factor to 61.6%.

José Ricardo Botelho, CEO and Executive Director of ALTA stated: “Although this year has been devastating for the world economy, during the month of July, the data from the Passenger Traffic Report for the region continued to show a slight recovery, with almost 5 million passengers transported in Latin America and the Caribbean “.

“This figure marks a significant rise compared to the lowest point of the year registered in April, when 1.1 million passengers were transported and gives continuity to the month of June when some markets such as Ecuador, Peru and some Caribbean countries were reactivated, marking a slight take-off in industry. “

“Definitely, July marked the reopening of important markets in the Caribbean like the Dominican Republic, which is an important step for the Caribbean where the majority of tourists visiting the region arrive by air.”

“However, if this figure is compared with that of July 2019, the reduction in passenger traffic in Latin America was 87.6%, with 34 million fewer passengers.”

“In the accumulated 2020, the reduction in passenger traffic exceeds 56%, which is greater than the reduction projections made in April, which was close to 50% for 2020 compared to 2019.”

“In August, the improvement in passenger traffic levels is expected to continue, due to the reactivation of the industry in Panama (for connecting flights), Costa Rica and Honduras.”

“Little by little we will see how the airline industry will recover, but it must be remembered that this process may take between five and six years, so that until 2025 levels similar to those reported during 2019 will be seen in the region.”

“To achieve these goals more quickly, the governments of the region must eliminate travel barriers between countries, without neglecting the pandemic control measures, which in addition to staying healthy help us rebuild trust in travelers “.

“It is the opportune moment to open the skies and launch the important work that has been carried out with the public and private sectors to achieve coordinated and harmonized protocols aimed at completely reviving the tourism chain”.