Dubai: Middle Eastern airlines saw a 3.4 per cent increase in passenger demand in February 2018 compared to a year earlier as capacity increased.
According to the latest figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), carriers in the Middle East saw a 3.9 per cent increase in international capacity in February.
This followed what IATA described as “significant headwinds” faced by the carriers over the past year including the temporary electronics ban and proposed bans to the US on citizens of some Muslim-majority countries.
The growth recorded by regional carriers is the slowest on an international level. In Europe, for example, carriers saw demand increase in February 2018 by 6.8 per cent compared to a year ago.
Meanwhile, airlines in Asia Pacific posted a 9.1 per cent increase in passenger traffic, as North American airlines saw a 7.2 per cent jump in traffic.
“As expected, we saw a return to stronger demand growth in February, after the temporary slowdown in January,” Alexandre de Juniac, director-general and chief executive officer of IATA, said in a statement on Thursday.
“This is being supported by the robust economic backdrop and solid business confidence. However, increases in fuel prices — and labour costs in some countries — likely will temper the amount of traffic stimulation from lower airfares this year,” he added.
IATA said in its report that Latin American airlines posted the fastest year-on-year growth for a second consecutive month as February traffic jumped 9.8 per cent compared to February 2017. This was up from 8.1 per cent growth in January as demand continued to recover.
In Africa, airlines experienced a 6.3 per cent year-on-year rise in traffic.
