International air passenger traffic showed a 10.1 per cent year-on-year increase during October, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) has announced.

The international freight traffic rose 14.4 per cent.

Middle East carriers recorded the strongest growth for the month with an 18 per cent increase in demand. This is despite the earlier Ramadan dates, which negatively skewed the numbers with a 1 per cent fall in October traffic as compared to September. The region also had the largest capacity expansion at 13.7 per cent compared to October 2009.
 
“As we approach the end of 2010, growth is returning to a more normal pattern. Passenger demand is 5 per cent above pre-crisis levels of early 2008, while freight is 1 per cent above. Where we go from here is dependant on developments in the global economy," Iata said.

The US is spending more to boost its economy. Asia outside of Japan is barrelling forward with high-speed growth. And Europe is tightening its belt as its currency crisis continues. The picture going forward is anything but clear, but for the time being, the recovery seems to be strengthening, said Giovanni Bisignani, Iata’s director general and CEO.

Freight appears to be at a turning point. Since May, freight volumes have declined by 5%. October saw an end to the decline in freight with a slight uptick. “But a single month does not make a trend. And it remains to be seen if this is the stabilization in freight volumes or the start of an upward trend,” said Bisignani.

Improvements in demand are being met by a cautious approach to capacity expansion. Over the first 10 months of the year, passenger demand grew by 8.5 per cent, with a capacity expansion of 4 per cent. A cargo capacity expansion of 9.2 per cent was well below the demand increase of 24 per cent. Forward schedules indicate a continuation of this trend, with a 7.5 per cent passenger capacity increase planned for the half-year scheduling period beginning at the end of October.

The 10.1 per cent growth in passenger demand in October is slightly below the 10.7 per cent recorded in September, but both months are an improvement over August. - TradeArabia News Service