record of operations in Latin America in 2023, what happened in Argentina?

Last year they recorded a historical record of passengers and flights in the regionreturning to the highest levels of the last decade, according to the Air Passenger Traffic Report prepared by the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA).

Thus, through the skies of Latin America 451.6 million passengers were transported, A figure that represented an increase of 13.3% compared to the 2022 totals. And it was 3.9% above the levels of 2019, the year before the pandemic crisis.

This increase was felt throughout the region, but was driven more specifically by three South American countries: Brazil, Colombia and Argentina.

Aviation: Latin American figures

Put into figures, the behavior of the airline business in Latin America during the past year was as follows:

• There were 451.6 million passengers transported, with a year-on-year increase of 13.3%.
• That amount was transported on 3.6 million flights, which thus grew 8.6% compared to the 2022 level.
• Regarding the supply of seats, it reached 285.8 million, with a year-on-year growth of 10.5% compared to 2022.
• South America was the leader in air traffic in the region, with 246.6 million passengers, 310.6 million seats offered and 1.9 million flights throughout the year.
• The Caribbean, however, recorded the highest percentage growth, with a 20% increase in the number of passengers, 16% more in seat capacity and a 15% increase in the number of flights, compared to 2022.

December boosted the annual result

On the other hand, the report highlighted that December was the month with the highest number of international passengers transported throughout the year, with a total of 19.4 million travelers: the volume of passengers increased 6.3% compared to 2022, positioning as the second busiest month of the year.

This growth translated into 2.4 million additional passengers, of which 1.5 million (62%) corresponded to the extra-regional international market.

On the other hand, an increase of 3.3% was observed compared to December 2019, confirming the positive trend in the recovery of the sector.

This was the performance by country

Annual growth was driven by South American countries, which showed a strong increase in operations during December. According to the ALTA report, Brazil It topped the ranking with more than 100 million passengers transported, reaching 95% of the traffic that had been registered in 2019.

Then it was located Colombiawith 49.5 million passengers transported by cabotage, this is 2.8% more than in 2022. And it stood out in the international market, with a 30% increase in passengers.

Costa Rica reached a historic milestone by registering 7.9 million passengers, 11% more than the previous record in 2019 and 26% more than in 2022.

For its part, Panama It also had a record year, with 18.2 million passengers, exceeding the historical maximum of 2019 by 8% and 16% above the 2022 records.

Ecuador carried 8.5 million passengers, the highest number since 2013, with a significant increase in international traffic.

How was Argentina in the ranking?

Argentina was located in third place on the Latin American podiumhand in hand with the good performance of the flagship company, Argentinian airlines.

According to the official statistics of the National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC), during 2023, the total passengers transported (adding cabotage and international) amounted to 29,061,000, 33.7% more than in 2022, but 3.7% below 2019.

The disaggregated reading indicates that in cabotage, passengers transported totaled 17,319,000 compared to 13,560,000 in 2022. This represents an increase of 27.7% in the year-on-year comparison. And an increase of 8.7% compared to 2019, the year before the pandemic.

Regarding international traffic, the number of passengers transported increased from 8,171,000 during 2022 to 11,752,000 in 2023, with an increase of 43.7% year-on-year. Of all, this segment is still 17.6% below the figures recorded in 2019.

Companies want to fly higher

“The report certainly reflects results very encouraging. However, we can still fly much higher. Well, if we have these results with such complex environments, and sometimes even adversethen imagine how this performance could be enhanced with an efficient environment,” highlighted José Ricardo Botelho, executive director and CEO of ALTA.

However, the director stressed that there are governments in the region that still They have pending measures to facilitate the sustained growth of this industry. “It is urgent to implement measures that promote efficiencies, on the one hand, updating the legislations and on the other checking itaxes, fees and contributions that many times are not even related to the operation or the sector.”

Botelho also raised the need to “generate incentives and guarantee legal certainty that promotes investment and with a better strategic vision, taking aviation as an ally for the socioeconomic development of the countries.”

ALTA is a private, non-profit association at the service of the airline industry whose objective is “to develop an aviation safer, more efficient and sustainable in Latin America and the Caribbean. ALTA coordinates collaborative efforts throughout the entire value chain maximizing the impact that aviation has on the economic and social growth of the region for the benefit of the industry, nations and populations served by air transportation.”