The strong growth in intercontinental flights stands out, namely on the routes to Brazil, North America and Africa, where the Portuguese airline carried 2.17 million passengers from January to June, 31.1 per cent more than in the same period last year.
Very significantly, on these intercontinental routes, TAP has already managed to increase the number of passengers carried by 14.7 per cent compared to the pre-pandemic period, namely the first half of 2019, thus demonstrating the company's solid recovery.
On continental routes (flights in Europe. Including mainland Portugal and islands), TAP carried a total of 5.41 million passengers in the first half of 2023, 29.8 per cent more than in the same period last year, but still 10 per cent below the period before the pandemic, namely the first half of 2019.
The traffic indicators for the first half of the year now revealed by the airline are also very positive with regard to the average load factor, which was 80.2 per cent, up 5.5 percentage points compared to 2022 and already half a percentage point higher than before the pandemic, in the first half of 2019.
With regard to ASK (Available Seat per Kilometre), TAP recorded a total of 25,015,746 in the first half of the year, 21.4 per cent more than in the same period last year and 4.3 per cent above the first half of 2019.
In view of this indicator (ASK), an even greater growth in demand should be highlighted, measured in RPK (Revenue per Kilometre), which stood at a total of 20 067 216 in the first half of the year, 30.4 per cent more than in the same period of 2022 and already five per cent above the pre-pandemic period, with reference to the first half of 2019.