Dubai: Middle East carriers posted year-on-year traffic growth of 12.3 per cent for August but saw demand dip slightly from July, due to Ramadan, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The region was slated to be the only one in the world where capacity added from delivery of new aircraft was actually higher than the growth in passenger numbers. New seats grew at a 13 per cent rate.
Meanwhile, global air travel demand rose by 6.4 per cent for passengers and 19.6 per cent for cargo, 3 per cent above the pre-recession levels of early 2008.
"The rapid improvements in demand that we saw earlier this year are behind us. The slowdown of demand in August is consistent with our forecast for a tougher end to 2010 as government stimulus monies run out without having generated significant improvements in employment. The bounce from re-stocking is over. We do not yet see the strong consumer confidence needed to sustain the expansion with spending," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's director general and chief executive.
International capacity increases in passenger markets are accelerating. Since December 2009, air travel volumes have expanded by 4.3 per cent while capacity has risen by 6 per cent.
Passenger load factors remain high (81.6 per cent), but when adjusted for seasonal fluctuation this amounts to a drop of 1.5 percentage points compared to the February 2010 peak.
Freight volumes carried by Asian carriers have increased by 3.8 per cent since January while European and North American carriers have seen a 6-8 per cent expansion over the same period.
