Imagine the roar of 38.9 million flights crisscrossing the sky last year, a near pre-pandemic crescendo of global travel as evidenced by over a billion enplanements in the U.S. alone and a record-breaking 8.4 trillion revenue passenger kilometers worldwide.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, global scheduled passenger traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) reached 8.4 trillion, a 37.8% increase from 2022 levels
- Total enplanements at U.S. airports in 2023 totaled 1.03 billion passengers, up 12.5% from 2022
- Asia-Pacific region saw 2.1 billion passengers in 2023, representing 46% of global total
- U.S. TSA screened 967 million passengers in 2023, up 16% YoY
- Global flight departures totaled 38.9 million in 2023, 94% of 2019 levels
- FAA reported 51,000 daily average flights in U.S. airspace in 2023 peak
- World air cargo traffic in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs) hit 74 billion in 2023, up 4.8% YoY
- U.S. air cargo enplaned: 27.7 billion revenue ton miles in 2023
- Asia-Pacific cargo traffic: 28 billion FTKs in 2023, 52% global share
- World busiest cargo airport Incheon: 3.9 million tonnes 2023
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (ATL) handled 104.7 million passengers in 2023, world busiest
- Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW): 81.7 million passengers in 2023
- Global aviation accidents: 5 fatal accidents in 2023, lowest on record
- ICAO worldwide accident rate: 1.24 per million departures in 2023
- U.S. FAA accident rate: 5.9 per 100,000 flight hours in 2023
Global air travel surged in 2023 with strong passenger and cargo growth across all regions.
Airport Statistics
- World busiest cargo airport Incheon: 3.9 million tonnes 2023
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (ATL) handled 104.7 million passengers in 2023, world busiest
- Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW): 81.7 million passengers in 2023
- Denver (DEN): 77.8 million passengers in 2023
- Chicago O'Hare (ORD): 73.8 million passengers in 2023
- London Heathrow (LHR): 79.2 million passengers in 2023
- Dubai Intl (DXB): 87.0 million passengers in 2023
- Tokyo Haneda (HND): 78.1 million passengers in FY2023
- Los Angeles (LAX): 75.1 million passengers in 2023
- Istanbul (IST): 76.2 million passengers in 2023
- Paris CDG: 67.4 million passengers in 2023
- Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS): 61.7 million passengers in 2023
- Singapore Changi (SIN): 58.9 million passengers in 2023
- Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN): 73.3 million passengers in 2023
- Beijing Capital (PEK): 66.3 million passengers in 2023
- Madrid Barajas (MAD): 61.8 million passengers in 2023
- Soekarno-Hatta (CGK): 61.6 million passengers in 2023
- Frankfurt (FRA): 59.6 million passengers in 2023
- Rome Fiumicino (FCO): 43.5 million passengers in 2023
- Miami (MIA): 52.3 million passengers in 2023
- Charlotte (CLT): 52.9 million passengers in 2023
- Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX): 52.0 million passengers in 2023
- Las Vegas Harry Reid (LAS): 57.6 million passengers in 2023
- Orlando (MCO): 57.2 million passengers in 2023
- New York JFK: 62.5 million passengers in 2023
- London Gatwick (LGW): 40.6 million passengers in 2023
- Suvarnabhumi (BKK): 55.6 million passengers in 2023
- Sydney Kingsford Smith (SYD): 42.2 million passengers in FY2023
Airport Statistics Interpretation
Atlanta seems dedicated to moving people in bulk, Incheon prefers its cargo pallets heavy, and the rest of the world is locked in a relentless, high-stakes scrum for the title of busiest bus station in the sky.
Cargo Traffic
- World air cargo traffic in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs) hit 74 billion in 2023, up 4.8% YoY
- U.S. air cargo enplaned: 27.7 billion revenue ton miles in 2023
- Asia-Pacific cargo traffic: 28 billion FTKs in 2023, 52% global share
- E-commerce drove 45% of air cargo volume in 2023 globally
- UPS air cargo: 5.8 billion package volume in FY2023
- FedEx Express: 15.3 million metric tons in FY2023
- DHL Aviation: 2.1 million tonnes in 2023
- Hong Kong International cargo: 4.3 million tonnes in 2023, world No.1
- Memphis (MEM) cargo: 4.4 million tons in 2023
- Frankfurt Airport cargo: 2.0 million tonnes in 2023
- Shanghai Pudong cargo: 3.4 million tonnes in 2023
- Doha Hamad cargo: 1.2 million tonnes in 2023
- U.S. domestic air cargo: 18 billion ton miles in 2023
- Perishables cargo: 2.8 million tonnes air freight in 2023
- Pharma air cargo: 1.1 million tonnes in 2023, up 12%
- Electronics accounted for 25% of air cargo value in 2023
- Global air cargo capacity: 260 billion CTKs available in 2023
- Load factor for cargo averaged 52% in 2023 globally
- Africa-Middle East air cargo lane: 2.5 billion FTKs in 2023
- Latin America cargo: 4.2 billion FTKs, up 6.5% in 2023
- Europe intra-regional cargo: 12 billion CTKs in 2023
- U.S.-Asia Pacific cargo traffic: 15 billion ton miles in 2023
- Belly cargo share: 60% of total air cargo capacity in 2023
- Freighter fleet: 1,600 active aircraft globally in 2023
- Air cargo rates averaged $3.50 per kg in 2023 peak
- China exports by air: 1.8 million tonnes in 2023
- U.S. exports air cargo: 2.1 million short tons in 2023
Cargo Traffic Interpretation
The skies are officially congested with our collective impatience, as evidenced by e-commerce packages making up nearly half of global air cargo volume, while essential perishables and pharmaceuticals fight for space alongside a dominant Asia-Pacific region that hauled over half of the world's freight.
Flight Operations
- U.S. TSA screened 967 million passengers in 2023, up 16% YoY
- Global flight departures totaled 38.9 million in 2023, 94% of 2019 levels
- FAA reported 51,000 daily average flights in U.S. airspace in 2023 peak
- Eurocontrol handled 10.3 million flights in 2023, up 11% YoY
- China's civil aviation flights reached 13.6 million in 2023
- India recorded 1.5 million domestic flights in FY2023-24
- Brazil's ANAC reported 1.2 million flights in 2023
- Australia flights totaled 850,000 in FY2023
- UK CAA: 2.4 million flights in 2023
- Transatlantic flights averaged 4,500 weekly in Q4 2023
- Southeast Asia intra-regional flights: 1.1 million in 2023
- U.S. domestic flights: 25 million in 2023
- Long-haul flights globally: 4.2 million in 2023
- Average daily global flights: 106,000 in 2023 peak summer
- Europe's short-haul flights: 7.8 million in 2023
- Middle East hub flights at Dubai: 420,000 in 2023
- U.S. airline mainline departures: 15.2 million annually in 2023
- Regional jet flights in U.S.: 4.8 million in 2023
- Cargo-only flights globally: 650,000 in 2023
- Charter flights worldwide: 1.2 million in 2023
- Business aviation flights: 3.5 million globally in 2023
- Military flights tracked: 1.8 million in civil airspace 2023
- Average flight length globally: 2.1 hours in 2023
- Peak daily flights at ATL airport: 2,600 in 2023
- Global airline seat capacity grew 24% YoY to 4.8 billion seats in 2023
Flight Operations Interpretation
Despite the lingering ghost of 2019, the world in 2023 decisively strapped itself back in, muttered "we really should have just taken the train," and proceeded to collectively log over 100,000 daily flights, proving our addiction to aviation is both remarkably resilient and slightly exhausting.
Passenger Traffic
- In 2023, global scheduled passenger traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) reached 8.4 trillion, a 37.8% increase from 2022 levels
- Total enplanements at U.S. airports in 2023 totaled 1.03 billion passengers, up 12.5% from 2022
- Asia-Pacific region saw 2.1 billion passengers in 2023, representing 46% of global total
- European airlines carried 1.04 billion passengers in 2023, a 15.2% YoY growth
- Middle East passenger traffic hit 200 million in 2023, recovering to 95% of 2019 levels
- Latin America passengers reached 450 million in 2023, up 22% from prior year
- Africa air passengers numbered 120 million in 2023, with 18% growth
- North America enplaned 1.2 billion passengers domestically in 2023
- Low-cost carriers globally carried 1.5 billion passengers in 2023, 33% of market share
- International passenger traffic recovered to 88% of 2019 levels by end-2023 globally
- China's domestic passengers hit 660 million in 2023, up 71% YoY
- India's passenger traffic reached 152 million in FY2023-24, 20% growth
- U.S. international passengers: 226 million in 2023
- Emirates carried 43.8 million passengers in 2023-24 FY
- Delta Air Lines enplaned 200 million passengers in 2023
- Ryanair transported 152.7 million passengers in FY2024
- United Airlines carried 167 million passengers in 2023
- Air France-KLM group: 97.9 million passengers in 2023
- Southwest Airlines boarded 137 million passengers in 2023
- Lufthansa Group: 131.9 million passengers in 2023
- American Airlines: 215 million passengers in 2023
- Qantas: 50.6 million passengers in FY2024
- Turkish Airlines: 83.4 million passengers in 2023
- easyJet: 82.2 million passengers in FY2024
- Air Canada: 45.5 million passengers in 2023
- LATAM Airlines: 73 million passengers in 2023
- IndiGo: 102 million passengers in FY2024
- Global load factor for airlines averaged 82.4% in 2023
- Premium cabin traffic grew 24% YoY to 1.2 trillion RPKs in 2023
- Leisure travel accounted for 65% of global passengers in 2023
- In December 2023, global RPKs rose 16.4% YoY to 830 billion
Passenger Traffic Interpretation
The skies are decisively bustling again, with global passenger traffic soaring nearly 38% as travelers from all regions, but especially the dominant Asia-Pacific market, propelled a powerful post-pandemic recovery, evidenced by major airlines like Delta, Ryanair, and IndiGo carrying hundreds of millions of passengers while airlines overall flew a remarkably full 82.4% of their seats.
Safety and Delays
- Global aviation accidents: 5 fatal accidents in 2023, lowest on record
- ICAO worldwide accident rate: 1.24 per million departures in 2023
- U.S. FAA accident rate: 5.9 per 100,000 flight hours in 2023
- EASA European accident rate: 0.95 per million flights in 2023
- IATA member airlines: zero fatal accidents in 2023 for 2.7 billion passengers
- Global runway excursions: 25 events in 2023, down 20% YoY
- Bird strikes reported: 16,359 in U.S. 2023
- U.S. delays: 20.8% of flights delayed 15+ min in 2023
- Eurocontrol delay average: 13.2 minutes per flight in 2023
- Weather caused 65% of U.S. delays in 2023
- Global turbulence incidents: 1,200 reported injuries in 2023
- Near mid-air collisions (NMACs): 300 in U.S. airspace 2023
- Runway incursion events: 1,200 globally in 2023
- Cargo aircraft accidents: 2 fatal in 2023 worldwide
- Business jet accident rate: 1.1 per 100,000 hours in 2023
- Average U.S. cancellation rate: 1.4% in 2023
- Europe's ATFM delay: 11.5 min/flight average 2023 summer
- Global loss of control incidents: 45 in 2023
- Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT): 1 event fatal in 2023
- U.S. GA accidents: 1,188 total, 181 fatal in 2023
- Airline on-time performance: 80.3% globally in 2023
- India DGCA zero hull-loss accidents for scheduled ops in 2023
- Australia CASA: 0.58 accidents per 100,000 hours in 2023
- China CAAC: accident rate 0.11 per million departures 2023
- Brazil ANAC: 1.2 accidents per million sectors in 2023
- Fatigue-related incidents: 250 reported globally 2023
- Global aviation fatalities: 130 in 2023, lowest ever
- Diversions worldwide: 45,000 in 2023
- U.S. Part 121 delay rate: 22% in 2023 peak
Safety and Delays Interpretation
The statistics reveal a story of modern aviation where our greatest challenge has shifted from an industry striving to be safe—a battle largely won—to one now straining to be reliably punctual against increasingly crowded skies and unpredictable weather.
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