Middle East airlines led global growth in international passenger demand in July, with more than twice the average growth seen globally, says the International Air Transport Association (Iata).
Middle East airlines experienced a 19.8 per cent demand surge in July over the same month in 2014, buoyed by the timing of the holy month of Ramadan. Capacity rose 17.7 per cent and load factor climbed to 79.6 per cent.
Results were given a boost by Ramadan which fell partly in July this year but took place mostly in July in 2014. The holy month tends to subdue demand for air travel.
"July results were strongly positive but slowing global trade and the wild gyrations of stock exchanges around the globe suggest that we may be in for some turbulence in coming months," said Tony Tyler, Iata's director-general and chief executive officer.
July international passenger demand rose 8.6 per cent compared to the same month in 2014, with airlines in all regions recording growth, including Africa for the first time this year. Total capacity climbed 6.5 per cent, pushing load factor up 1.6 percentage points to 83.5 per cent.
Asia-Pacific airlines saw July traffic increase 8.5 per cent compared to the year-ago period. European airlines' demand increased by 6.7 per cent, reflecting economic recovery in the eurozone. North American airlines' traffic rose 5.3 per cent compared to July a year ago. Latin American airlines' July traffic climbed 8.5 per cent compared to July 2014.
African airlines' traffic moved into positive territory for the first time this year, rising 4.9 per cent in July over July 2014.
Domestic travel demand rose 7.6 per cent in July compared to last year. All markets showed growth, with the strongest increases occurring in India and China.
India's domestic demand soared 28.1 per cent in July compared to a year ago, likely owing to significant increases in service frequencies and improvements in economic growth. China domestic traffic climbed 10.9 per cent year-over-year.
Cargo demand
Middle Eastern airlines saw air cargo demand expand by 10.8 per cent in July, and capacity rising 18.3 per cent. Global air freight volumes measured in freight tonne kilometres (FTK) fell 0.6 per cent.
The decline was broad-based across all regions with the exception of Africa and the Middle East. The most pronounced falls were in the Americas, where international FTK volumes were down more than five per cent compared to July 2014.
"Following a strong summer, the outlook heading into autumn is unsettled. While passenger demand remains healthy, air cargo growth turned negative in July," said Tyler.