Dubai: The Middle Eastern airlines carried more passengers in the month of July than they did a year earlier, according to the latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The 9.2 per cent passenger growth among region’s carriers outstripped the capacity increase of 8.2 per cent. The Middle East carriers also had the largest international air travel growth out of all other regions.
On average, planes from the Middle East were 78 per cent full in the month of July, up 0.7 percentage points than a year earlier.
“Airlines in the Middle East continue to benefit from the strength of regional economies and solid growth in business-related premium travel,” IATA said in a statement on Wednesday.
Over the January 1 to July 31 period, the number of passengers travelling on Middle East carriers has grown 12.7 per cent while capacity on these airlines has increased 10.3 per cent over the same period.
Globally, there was a 5.3 per cent increase in air travel passenger numbers in July compared to the same month a year earlier. While in the first seven months of the year passenger numbers have increased by 5.8 per cent globally, according to IATA.
Tony Tyler, IATA Director General and CEO, warned in Wednesday’s statement that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, weakness in the Eurozone and violence in Eastern Ukraine and the Middle East signify significant risks for the industry.
