Air Travel Remained Strong in May

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic results for May showing demand growth of 6.2 percent compared to May 2013. While this represented a deceleration compared to April year-over-year traffic growth of 7.6 percent, the performance is indicative of improving demand drivers.

May capacity rose 5.2 percent and load factor climbed 0.7 percentage points to 79 percent. All regions except Africa experienced positive traffic growth.

“We are seeing healthy demand for air traffic to support and help sustain the pick-up in global economic activity,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

May international passenger traffic rose 7 percent compared to the year-ago period. Capacity rose 6.0% and load factor climbed 0.8 percentage points to 78.1 percent. All regions recorded year-over-year increases in demand.

Domestic air travel rose 4.6 percent in May year-on-year, with all markets showing growth with significant variation in performance continuing across markets. Capacity rose 3.8 percent and load factor was 80.6 percent, up 0.6 percentage points. Growth was especially strong in the developing economies of China and Russia.

Source: Travel Agent Central