Travel, Tourism & Hospitality

ME carriers lead air travel demand growth

Middle East carriers reported a staggering 12 per cent rise in global air travel demand in March, which was the largest increase among all the regions.

According to a report released by The International Air Transport Association (Iata), airlines in all the regions recorded growth, with the Middle East taking the lead. Following closely behind was African airlines with traffic surging 11.2 per cent and Latin American airlines reporting a 7.9 per cent increase in traffic compared to March 2015.

Capacity nearly kept pace at 13.6 per cent but load factor dropped 1.1 percentage points to 76.5 per cent.

Globally, international passenger demand rose 6.2 per cent in March compared to the same month last year, which was a decline compared to the 9.1 per cent increase in February.

Total capacity on international passenger markets climbed 6.9 per cent, causing load factor to slip 0.5 percentage points to 78.5 per cent.

Domestic demand also rose 3.7 per cent in March compared to the same month last year, which was a dramatic slowdown from the leap year-aided 7.8 per cent growth recorded in February.

Comparing the figures, March performance shows a moderate slowdown on the year-on-year growth rates recorded in January (7.2 per cent) and February (8.6 per cent) even after adjusting for the leap-year impact in February.

“While in line with long-term trends, demand growth in March represented a slow-down compared to January and February. It is premature to say whether this marks the end of the recent very strong results. We do expect further stimulus in the form of network expansion and declines in travel costs. However, the wider economic backdrop remains subdued,” said Tony Tyler, Iata’s director general and CEO. - TradeArabia News Service