Air passenger growth slows in April: IATA
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
IATA has released its latest air traffic figures, showing passenger travel on international markets rose 3.8% in April compared to a year ago, slower than the 4.6% result in March.
The growth trend for international passenger numbers remains sluggish overall, the airline body found.
For premium international travel (up 4.9%), there was an acceleration on March (up 4.6%), but the growth trend remains fragile when looking at the past six months.
There was a rise in premium international air travel volumes in April compared to March, but given developments in demand drivers and the inherent month-to-month volatility in the data, this does not necessarily mean an upturn in the trend, IATA said in a statement.
“Global economic growth appears to be have slowed for the second consecutive month in May, according to measures of business activity and world trade is experiencing the steepest decline since 2013. Nonetheless, some markets continue to show solid increases, at least for the time being. International travel within Far East was up 11.7% overall, and on premium markets, travel within Europe rose 4.8%, consistent with recent indicators that economic recovery is on track,” it said.
Looking ahead, IATA said recent developments in the global economy present downside risks for growth in international air travel. “Economic weakness in Asia from falling trade activity could lead to deterioration in business related air travel for that region. That said, there has been no sign of weakness in demand,” it added.
Comments are closed.