Asia leads global air traffic growth
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
Airlines in Asia Pacific and the Middle East continue to see the world’s strongest growth rates, in terms of passenger traffic, according to the latest data from IATA.
Middle Eastern airlines experienced a 14.0% jump in traffic (measured in revenue passenger kilometres, or RPK) in May 2015, while carriers based in the Asia Pacific region saw a 9.4% increase.
This compares favourably to the global 6.3% increase, with European traffic climbing 4.1% and passenger demand in North American rising just 2.0%.
But Tony Tyler, IATA’s director general & CEO, warned of potential obstacles ahead.
“May results confirm that demand for connectivity remains robust, but there are possible storm clouds forming on the horizon,” said Tyler. “The financial crisis in Greece and recent weakness in regional trade activity in Asia Pacific have the potential to dampen performance in these markets in the coming months.”
Asian countries are also leading the way in terms of domestic growth. India’s aviation sector continued to soar in May, with an 18.2% jump in passenger traffic, and an average aircraft load factor of more than 87% (compared to the global average of 79%). Passenger demand in China increased 12.7%, while Japan saw a 4.8% increase in domestic traffic. Australia however, experienced a 1.3% decline.
Traffic is likely to continue rising during the northern hemisphere’s summer holiday season, but IATA warned that aviation infrastructure needs to be improved to minimise travel disruptions.
“As we enter the busy summer travel season in the northern hemisphere, many millions of people will rely on aviation to explore the world or re-connect with friends and family,” said Tyler. “[But] in many cases the infrastructure is insufficient to meet demand. Delays and crowded airports should send strong signals to government leaders to address critical choke points, implement risk-based security and advance much needed air traffic management modernisation in many parts of the world.”
Tyler went on to single out China as one of the countries where there “is still much more work to be done”.
Comments are closed.