Global air travel demand grows 9.6%

Source: Xinhua | 2017-03-08

GLOBAL demand for air travel in January rose 9.6 percent, the sharpest increase in more than five years, boosted by surging demand in the domestic passenger market in China and India, the International Air Transport Association said yesterday.

“2017 is off to a very strong start, with demand at levels not seen since 2011,” IATA Director-General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said in a statement.

Passenger traffic in the Asia-Pacific region jumped 14.3 percent while growth in North America lagged for the fourth consecutive month.

IATA said it sees annual global demand for air travel still at around 5.5 percent.

“This is supported by the upturn in the global economic cycle and a return to a more normal environment after the terrorism and political ‘shock’ events seen in early 2016,” the IATA head said.