New figures released today (October 3) by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) suggest the rise in air passenger demand is slowing down.
Demand grew in August by 4.5% compared to the same month in 2010. But it was down when compared to the 6% rise for July.
The airline cartel said that when compared to July, August showed a total passenger drop of 1.6%, including a 1.8% fall in interntional markets and a 1% fall in the already weak domestic markets.
Passenger load factors stayed almost as high as July at 81.4% but capacity dropped by 1.3%
Tony Tyler, IATA’s director general and ceo, said: “The industry has shifted gears downward. The pace of growth in passenger markets has dipped and the freight business is now shrinking at a faster pace.
“With business and consumer confidence continuing to slump globally there is not a lot of optimism for improved conditions any time soon.”
Regionally, IATA said that European airlines showed the highest growth in August. There was a 7.9% rise compared with last year, an 8.2% increase in capacity and load factors at a historic high of 83.9%.
IATA said: “Although domestic economies and leisure travel are weak, strong exports have led to increased business travel on international markets.
“While the August growth was the strongest in the industry, it should be noted that this is below the 10.6% demand expansion reported for the first eight months of the year indicating that markets are softening.”
IATA said Middle East carreirs showed a growth of 6.7% on last year, Latin America 5.6%, Aisa-Pacific 5.3% and Africa 5.2%.
The weakest growth was 2.9% in North America.