Middle East airlines reported the world’s strongest growth in passenger demand in July, according to latest data released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Carriers in the region saw growth of 9.2 percent which was ahead of a capacity expansion of 8.2 percent.
IAT said in a statement that load factor rose 0.7 percent to 78 percent.
“The carriers are benefiting from the strength of regional economies and solid growth in business-related premium travel,” the global aviation authority added.
Globally, IATA said passenger traffic results for July showed demand growth of 5.3 percent (measured in revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs) over the previous July.
Capacity expanded exactly in tandem with demand (5.3 percent), resulting in a global load factor of 82.3 percent, unchanged from last year.
Tony Tyler, IATA’s director general and CEO, said: “July was another strong month of growth for air travel. People are connecting by air in ever greater numbers. That’s true across all regions. Despite the various economic challenges, the outlook for passenger travel remains broadly positive.
“The overall sluggishness at the beginning of the year appears to be behind us with growth in China and other emerging economies offsetting recent deterioration in the Eurozone,” he said
He added that airlines are on track to record a profit of $18 billion this year, which represents a net profit margin of just 2.4 percent.
“Robust economic conditions support the expansion of travel. In turn connectivity stimulates economic growth and creates jobs. It’s a tried and tested virtuous circle. And the expectation is for continued solid growth over the remainder of 2014,” said Tyler.
He added: “We cannot ignore, however, the risks that could de-rail this trajectory. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa, weakness in the Eurozone, hostilities in Eastern Ukraine and instability in the Middle East loom large.”
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