INTERNATIONAL. Global passenger traffic demand rose by +7.8% year-on-year in June, continuing the strong growth trend seen in 2017.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said a brighter economic picture and lower airfares were keeping demand for travel strong. All regions reported growth.
June international passenger demand rose +7.5% year-on-year. Demand is measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs).
June capacity (available seat kilometers or ASKs) increased by +6.5%, and load factor rose 1.0 percentage point to 81.9%.
For the first six months of 2017, the industry experienced a 12-year high in traffic growth (+7.9%) and a record first half load factor of 80.7%.
IATA Director General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac warned that as costs rise, the stimulus of lower fares is “likely to fade” while “uncertainties such as Brexit need to be watched carefully”.
He added that IATA still expects 2017 to see above-trend growth.
In Asia Pacific, traffic jumped +9.1%. The overall upward trend in seasonally-adjusted traffic remains strong, although volumes have slipped in recent months, IATA noted. Traffic on Asia-Europe routes continues to trend upwards following terrorism related disruptions in early 2016. However, solid demand growth on international routes within Asia has paused.
European carriers saw traffic rise +8.8%. The stronger growth reflects both a favourable comparison with the year-ago period, as well as increased momentum in the regional economic backdrop, according to the association.
A +2.5% traffic increase was recorded in the Middle East. IATA said: “While most markets have seen demand slowing, it is most visible on the Middle East-North America market, which has been affected by a combination of factors including the (recently-lifted) ban on personal electronic devices, as well as a wider negative stimulation from the travel ban that has now been implemented for certain countries.
“However, passenger traffic between the Middle East and North America was already slowing in early 2017, in line with a moderation in the pace of growth of the largest carriers in the region.”
North American airlines’ demand rose +4.4%. The comparatively robust economic backdrop in North America is expected to continue to support outbound passenger demand, IATA said. “However, anecdotal evidence suggests that inbound tourism is being deterred by the additional security measures in place for travel to the US.”
In Latin American, traffic was up +9.7% supported by strong travel within the region, while travel to North America is flat to down slightly.
African airlines’ traffic soared +9.9% in June.. Conditions in the region’s two largest economies have continued to diverge, according to IATA. It said business confidence in Nigeria had risen sharply in recent months, while South Africa’s economy fell into recession in the first quarter.
