Air traffic growth slows due to economy, political shocks and terrorism, IATA says

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated that global passenger traffic rose by 5.2% in June, but cautioned that the demand environment was softer due to various factors including the economy and political shocks - such as those resulting from Brexit or in Turkey - as reflected in its seasonally-adjusted figures.

Despite the rate of growth being higher than the revised 4.8% figure for May, the upward trend in seasonally-adjusted traffic had moderated since January. As airline capacity had increased by 5.6% the number of seats filled or load-factor slipped by 0.3 percentage points to 80.7% in June.

IATA’s Director General and chief executive Tony Tyler said: "The fragile and uncertain economic backdrop, political shocks and a wave of terrorist attacks are all contributing to a softer demand environment."

International passenger demand for the month rose 5.0% compared to last year.

In parallel, capacity climbed 6.4%, causing load factor to slide 1.1% points to 79.4%. All regions recorded growth, with airlines in Latin America in the lead. In comparison demand for domestic travel rose by more at 5.7% compared to last year, while capacity increased 4.3%, causing load factor to rise 1.1% points to 83.2%. All markets experienced an increase in demand except for Brazil.

IATA represents around 260 airlines comprising of 83% of global air traffic. According to Tyler, aviation and related tourism delivers $2.7trn in economic impact and supports around 62.7m jobs worldwide.

“It is too soon to know whether recent terrorist attacks will have a long-term negative influence on demand, nor what will be the impact of Brexit and the events in Turkey. But it is vital that governments recognize and support aviation’s ability to contribute to global economic well-being and better understanding across cultural and political borders,” added Tyler."