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In a promising sign of recovery for the travel industry, international air passenger travel to and from the United States experienced substantial growth in April 2023. Recent data released by the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) revealed remarkable increases in air passenger enplanements, indicating a solid resurgence in global travel.

During April 2023, U.S.-international air traffic passenger enplanements surged to an impressive 19.823 million, marking a remarkable 28.3% increase compared to the same period in 2022. These numbers also represent a significant milestone, with enplanements reaching 94.1% of the pre-pandemic volume in April 2019.

The growth in air travel was not limited to U.S. citizens alone. Non-U.S. citizen air passenger arrivals from foreign countries rose notably, reaching 4.562 million in April 2023. This figure signifies a substantial 26% increase compared to April 2022 and represents 79.8% of the pre-pandemic volume witnessed in April 2019.

Further analysis of the data unveils an intriguing trend regarding overseas visitor arrivals. In April 2023, overseas visitor arrivals, which include individuals staying for at least one night and visiting under certain visa types, totalled 2.584 million. This marks the eighteenth consecutive month overseas visitor arrivals surpassed the 1.0 million mark. However, April’s figures reflected a slight decline from the previous month, with arrivals reaching 72.6% of the pre-pandemic volume observed in April 2019. For more information on March’s preliminary release, refer to the March I-94 Preliminary Release [link].

On the flip side, U.S. citizens also embarked on international journeys in increasing numbers. The data reveals that U.S. citizen air passenger departures from the United States to foreign countries reached 5.249 million in April 2023, representing a substantial 28.1% surge compared to April 2022. These figures exceeded the volume recorded in April 2019 by a remarkable 10.6%.

Examining the regional highlights of international air travel to and from the United States in April 2023 reveals exciting insights. The countries with the highest air passenger travel between the United States and other nations were Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Dominican Republic, and Germany. Specifically, Mexico witnessed 3.214 million passengers, Canada had 2.487 million, the United Kingdom had 1.677 million, the Dominican Republic had 878,000, and Germany had 813,000 passengers.

Breaking it down by world regions, Europe emerged as the leader in air passenger travel to and from the United States. With a total of 5.665 million passengers, Europe experienced a remarkable 32.0% increase compared to April 2022, demonstrating a solid rebound from the impact of the pandemic. However, compared to April 2019, Europe’s figures saw a slight decrease of (-8.5%).

South/Central America and the Caribbean also witnessed positive growth, with 4.987 million passengers in April 2023. This represents a 10.4% increase compared to April 2022 and a 2.7% increase compared to April 2019.

While experiencing a substantial 181.3% surge in air passenger travel compared to April 2022, Asia still lags behind pre-pandemic levels. With 1.898 million passengers in April 2023, Asia’s figures remain (-36.2%) lower than those recorded in April 2019.

The top U.S. ports serving international destinations were New York (JFK) with 2.806 million passengers, followed by Miami (MIA) with 1.832 million, Los Angeles (LAX) with 1.780 million, Newark (EWR) with 1.223 million, and San Francisco (SFO) with 1.106 million.

In terms of foreign ports serving U.S. locations, London Heathrow (LHR) we topped the list with 1.481 million passengers, followed by Cancun (CUN) with 1.090 million, Toronto (YYZ) with 1.052 million, Paris (CGD) with 634,000, and Mexico City (MEX) with 619,000.

The substantial growth in international air travel in April 2023 underscores the resilience and recovery of the global travel industry. As travel restrictions ease and vaccination efforts progress, the outlook for the coming months remains optimistic, paving the way for a brighter future for international air passenger travel.