Demand for travel in the month of June continued to increase, but at a slower pace, with Middle Eastern carriers reporting a 7.5 per cent increase in passenger traffic, which was well down on the double-digit growth recorded earlier in the year.

This could be owed, in part, to the timing of Ramadan, which tends to depress traffic growth, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) said in a statement. Capacity rose 14.3 per cent, which caused load factor to dive 4.4 percentage points to 69.9 per cent.

Global passenger traffic data released by Iata showed that overall demand (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) rose by 5.2 per cent compared to the year-ago period. This was up slightly from the 4.8 per cent increase recorded in May. However, the upward trend in seasonally-adjusted traffic has moderated since January. June capacity (available seat kilometers or ASKs) increased by 5.6 per cent, and load factor slipped 0.3 percentage points to 80.7 per cent.

International passenger demand in June rose 5.0 per cent compared to June 2015. All regions recorded growth, led by airlines in Latin America. Capacity climbed 6.4 per cent, causing load factor to slide 1.1 percentage points to 79.4 per cent.

"The demand for travel continues to increase, but at a slower pace. The fragile and uncertain economic backdrop, political shocks and a wave of terrorist attacks are all contributing to a softer demand environment,” said Tony Tyler, Iata’s director general and CEO.

Demand for domestic travel climbed 5.7 per cent in June compared to June 2015, while capacity increased 4.3 per cent, causing load factor to rise 1.1 percentage points to 83.2 per cent. All markets reported demand increases with the exception of Brazil.

"The latest figures show that aviation and aviation related tourism delivers $2.7 trillion in economic impact and supports some 62.7 million jobs worldwide. It is a powerful force for good in our world. It is too soon to know whether recent terrorist attacks will have a long-term negative influence on demand, nor what will be the impact of Brexit and the events in Turkey. But it is vital that governments recognise and support aviation’s ability to contribute to global economic well-being and better understanding across cultural and political borders,” said Tyler. - TradeArabia News Service