ME international air travel demand up 2.9pc in April

Middle East carriers saw international air travel demand rise 2.9 per cent in April compared to the same month in 2018, which was a recovery from a 3.0 per cent decline in traffic in March.

Notwithstanding the monthly turnaround, in seasonally-adjusted terms, the downward trend in traffic growth continues, reflecting broader structural changes affecting the industry in the region, according to figures released by the International Air Transport Association (Iata).

Capacity fell 1.6 per cent and load factor soared 3.5 percentage points to 80.5 per cent.

European airlines led the international air traffic growth across all regions in April, with an 8 per cent year-over-year increase, followed North American airlines (up 5.5 per cent), Latin American airlines (up 5.2 per cent), Middle East and Asia Pacific airlines (both up 2.9 per cent), and lastly African airlines (up 1.1 per cent)

Global international passenger demand rose 5.1 per cent in April compared to the same month in 2018. Total capacity climbed 3.8 per cent, and load factor climbed 1.1 percentage points to 82.5 per cent.

Demand for domestic travel climbed 2.8 per cent in April compared to April 2018, down from 4.1 per cent growth in March year-over-year. The slowing trend is being driven primarily by developments in China and India. Capacity increased 3.2 per cent and load factor slid 0.3 percentage point to 83.2 per cent.

The global passenger traffic results for April 2019 showed that demand (revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs) rose by 4.3 per cent compared to April 2018. April capacity (available seat kilometres or ASKs) increased by 3.6 per cent, and load factor climbed 0.6 percentage point to 82.8 per cent, which was a record for the month of April, surpassing last year’s record of 82.2 per cent. Regionally, Africa, Europe and Latin America posted record load factors.

Comparisons between the two months are distorted owing to the timing of the Easter holiday, which occurred on April 1 in 2018 but fell much later in the month in 2019.

“We experienced solid but not exceptional rising demand for air connectivity in April. This partly is owing to the timing of Easter, but also reflects the slowing global economy. Driven by tariffs and trade disputes, global trade is falling, and as a result, we are not seeing traffic growing at the same levels as a year ago. However, airlines are doing a very good job of managing aircraft utilisation, leading to record load factors,” said Alexandre de Juniac, Iata’s director general and CEO. - TradeArabia News Service