Middle East carriers posted the strongest passenger traffic growth across all regions in July, with a 13.1 per cent year-over-year increase.

According to a figures released by The International Air Transport Association (Iata), demand had dipped in June owing to the timing of Ramadan. However, capacity rose 15.5 per cent, causing load factor to drop 1.7 percentage points to 78.6 per cent.

Other regions had also witnessed a boost in passeger traffic, with Asia-Pacific airlines recording a 9.8 per cent increase compared to July 2015, while    Latin American carriers and African airlines saw demand rise 7.5 per cent cent and 7.4 per cent respectively. European and North American carriers posted passenger demand growth of 4.1 per cent and 4.8 per cent respectively.

Overall, July international passenger demand rose 7.1 per cent compared to July 2015, which was an increase over the 5.0 per cent yearly increase in June. Total capacity climbed 7.3 per cent, causing load factor to slip 0.2 per cent percentage points to 83.5 per cent.

Total revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) rose 5.9 per cent, compared to the same month last year, with all regions reporting growth. Monthly capacity (available seat kilometers or ASKs) increased by 6.0 per cent, and load factor was 83.7 per cent - just 0.1 percentage point below the record July high achieved in 2015.

“July saw demand strengthen, after a softening in June. Demand was stimulated by lower fares which, in turn, were supported by lower oil prices. And near record high load factors demonstrate that people want to travel. But, there are some important sub-plots to the narrative of strong demand. Long-haul travel to Europe, for example, suffered in the aftermath of a spate of terrorist attacks. And the mature domestic markets are seeing demand growth stall while Brazil and Russia contract,” said Alexandre de Juniac, Iata’s director general and CEO. - TradeArabia News Service