Thursday, Oct 01, 2015
Dubai: Demand for Middle East air travel continues to outgrow the global average despite a slow down in major regional economies Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Air travel among Middle East carriers grew by 13.7 per cent in August 2015 compared to the same month a year ago, nearly double the average growth in international air travel of 7.1 per cent, according to the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) August passenger data released on Thursday.
Capacity in the Middle East grew in line with regional air travel demands, up 13.5 per cent in August while the airlines filled an average of 83.7 per cent of seats, up 0.7 percentage point.
The Middle East was the fastest growing of all regions in August. Asia-Pacific airlines grew by 7.7 per cent, Latin American airlines by 6.7 per cent, European carriers by 5.7 per cent, North American carriers by 4.5 per cent and African airlines by 3.6 per cent.
Bucking the trend
IATA released global air freight data on Wednesday that showed the volumes were flat globally in August. But Middle East carriers bucked the trend, carrying 10.4 per cent more cargo in August 2015 than the same month a year earlier. Capacity among Middle East carriers increased 14.3 per cent.
IATA said overall expansion [in regional air freight] remains robust enough to sustain solid growth” despite the slowdown in non-oil sectors in the Middle East.
The global average was a 0.2 per cent increase in cargo volumes in August, a modest improvement on the 0.6 per cent contraction in July.
Staff Report
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