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ME carriers record strongest annual traffic growth

GENEVA, February 4, 2016

Middle East carriers recorded a staggering 10.5 per cent growth in annual traffic last year compared to the figures in 2014, registering the strongest growth globally, said a report.

Following closely behind was Latin America (9.3 per cent), Asia Pacific (8.2 per cent) and Europe (5 per cent), with Africa lugging far behind (3 per cent), according to global passenger traffic results released by International Air Transport Association (IATA).

As a result, the share of international traffic carried by Middle East airlines reached 14.2 per cent, surpassing their North American counterparts (13.4 per cent). Capacity growth of 13.2 per cent exceeded the demand gains, pushing down load factor 1.7 percentage points to 76.4 per cent.

Globally, international passenger traffic rose 6.5 per cent in 2015 compared to 2014. Capacity rose 5.9 per cent and load factor rose 0.5 percentage points to 79.7 per cent.

Global passenger traffic results for 2015 showing demand (revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) rose 6.5 per cent for the full year compared to 2014. This was the strongest result since the post-Global Financial Crisis rebound in 2010 and well above the 10-year average annual growth rate of 5.5 per cent.

A slide in airfare by 5 per cent year-on-year bolstered demand for air travel in 2015, even as economic fundamentals weakened.

 “Last year’s very strong performance, against a weaker economic backdrop, confirms the strong demand for aviation connectivity. But even as the appetite for air travel increased, consumers benefitted from lower fares compared to 2014,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s director general and CEO.

Annual capacity rose 5.6 per cent last year, with the result that load factor climbed 0.6 percentage points to a record annual high of 80.3 per cent. Carriers in the Asia-Pacific region accounted for one-third of the total annual increase in traffic. – TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Iata | Traffic | growth | carriers | Middle | East |

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