Demand for international air travel from the  Middle East slowed in May, with regional carriers reporting a marginal growth of 0.8 per cent compared to a year ago, from 2.9 per cent annual growth recorded in April, according to recent data.

Data released by International Air Transport Association (Iata) suggested that the earlier timing of Ramadan this year may have affected the result, but more broadly, the upward trend in traffic has slowed compared to last year.

May capacity increased 3.7 per cent, and load factor fell 1.9 percentage points to 67.5 per cent.

Asia-Pacific airlines carriers posted the strongest traffic growth across all regions in May, with an 8 per cent traffic rise for the month, followed by Latin American airlines (up 7.5 per cent), European carriers (up 6.2 per cent), North American Airlines (up 4.9 per cent), African airlines (up 3.8 per cent) and lastly Middle East carriers.

Overall, international traffic demand rose 5.8 per cent, up from 4.6 per cent growth in April, with airlines in all regions recording growth. Total capacity climbed 5.4 per cent and load factor rose 0.3 percentage point to 78.7 per cent.

Demand for domestic travel climbed 6.6 per cent in May compared to the same month in 2017, led by growth in China and India. The growth, however, was much slower compared to the 8.6 per cent year-on-year growth recorded in April, largely owing to moderate growth in both countries, although each continued to post double-digit traffic gains.

According to the Iata global passenger traffic results for May, global passenger demand (measured in revenue passenger kilometres, or RPKs) rose by 6.1 per cent compared to May 2017, which was a slight pickup from 6.0 per cent year-over-year growth for April 2018.

Capacity climbed 5.9 per cent and load factor rose 0.1 percentage point to 80.1 per cent.

"May was another solid month in terms of demand growth. As had been expected, we saw some moderation, as rising airline costs are reducing the stimulus from lower airfares. In particular, jet fuel prices are expected to be up nearly 26 per cent this year compared to 2017. Nevertheless, the record load factor for the month signifies that demand for air connectivity is strong," said Alexandre de Juniac, Iata’s director general and CEO. - TradeArabia News Service