Wednesday, Feb 01, 2012
-Global air traffic up 5.4% in December
-Passenger numbers slowed in second half of 2011
-IATA predicts 2012 will be a tough year
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By Alex Delmar-Morgan
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
DOHA (Zawya Dow Jones)--Global air traffic in December rose 5.4% from a year earlier, but demand slowed in the second half of 2011 amid a darkening global outlook, the International Air Transport Association said Wednesday, adding it expects this year to be a difficult one for the aviation industry.
"The trend since mid-year has clearly slowed, as travel markets react with a lag to the declines in confidence that weakened cargo in the second half of 2011," IATA said in a statement.
Total cargo volumes, including domestic and international, rose 0.2% in December from a year earlier. International freight contracted 0.8% in December, the association said.
IATA Director General Tony Tyler said 2012 would be a "tough" year for the aviation industry with demand for air travel likely to weaken further as economic uncertainty lingers. A failure to solve Europe's protracted financial crisis would have "dire consequences for economies around the world...and would most certainly tip the airline industry into the red," he added.
Worldwide passenger numbers in 2011 were up 5.9% compared with the previous year.
"Healthy passenger growth, primarily in the first half of the year, was offset by a declining cargo market. Optimism in China contrasted with gloom in Europe," Tyler said, adding the weak euro supported business travel demand.
In international markets, European carriers posted a 9.8% increase in December traffic, while passengers on Middle Eastern airlines rose 11.7% in the same period.
-By Alex Delmar-Morgan, Dow Jones Newswires; +974 6659 9818; alex.delmar-morgan@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-02-12 1538GMT
