Global air traffic rises 5% in 2013
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International air passenger traffic continued to rise steadily in 2013.
According to the latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the world’s airlines experienced a 5.2% increase in international passenger traffic – the same as the average annual growth rate of the past 30 years. Global seat capacity rose 4.8%, while passenger load factors increased 0.4% to 79.5%.
“We saw healthy demand growth in 2013 despite the very difficult economic environment,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s director general & CEO.
“There was a clear improvement trend over the course of the year which bodes well for 2014. Last year’s demand performance demonstrates the essential and growing role that aviation-enabled connectivity plays in our world. And with system-wide load factors at 79.5% it is also clear that airlines are continuing to drive efficiencies to an ever-higher level,” he added.
In terms of the world’s major regions, Asia Pacific saw the highest growth. The region’s airlines saw a 5.3% rise in international traffic in 2013, with load factors averaging 77.7%.
European carriers saw traffic rise 3.8% in 2013, with load factor rising to 81%, while airlines in North America saw traffic climb 3.0% and load factors reach 82.8% – the highest of any region.
Middle East airlines recorded the strongest increase in passenger traffic in 2013, with a rise of 12.1%, while Latin American carriers posted an 8.1% rise and African traffic climbed 5.5%.
Global domestic air travel demand rose grew by 4.9% in 2013, with average load factors of 79.9%.
The world biggest domestic air market, the US, saw growth of 1.9%, while Chinese traffic surged 11.7%. The domestic markets in Japan and India improved significantly in 2013, with traffic expanding 5.2% and 4.0% respectively.
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