Some 3.2 Billion Passengers Used Air Transport in 2014

Some 3.2 billion passengers used air transport for their business and tourism needs in 2014, according to preliminary figures on scheduled services released by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

The annual total of passengers was up approximately five percent compared to 2013 and is expected to reach over 6.4 billion by 2030, based on current projections. Aircraft departures reached 33 million globally during 2014, establishing a new record and surpassing the 2013 figure by roughly one million flights.

It said solid global economic growth and improving world trade helped world scheduled passenger traffic grow at a rate of 5.9 percent in 2014; expressed in terms of revenue passenger-kilometres or RPKs, compared to 5.5 percent in 2013.

It observed that the Asia/Pacific region was the world’s largest air travel market in 2014, with a 31 percent share in terms of world RPKs. It said the second and third largest air travel markets were Europe and North America, representing 27 percent and 25 percent respectively.

The report said the Middle East region, accounting for nine percent of world RPKs, recorded the fastest growth rate at 12.8 percent. The Latin America and Caribbean region increased by a solid 5.9 percent while Africa growth registered 1.5 percent.

“International scheduled passenger traffic grew by 6.3 percent in 2014, up from the 5.7 percent recorded in 2013. With recovery in the Eurozone economy, European traffic increased by 5.7 percent and accounted for the largest share of international RPKs with 38 percent,” it stated.

It said Asia/Pacific had the second largest share with 27 percent, growing by 5.8 percent. North America was also up by 3.1 percent, in line with its improving economic conditions.

With its combined economic strength and airline network expansion, the Middle East recorded the highest international passenger traffic growth at 13.4 percent.

The report said the Latin America/Caribbean meanwhile grew by a solid 6.2 percent despite weakness in some of its economies, and carriers in Africa experienced the slowest growth rate of 1.7 percent.

It said scheduled domestic passenger traffic increased by 5.1 percent compared to 2013, with North America and the Asia/Pacific accounting for a combined 82 percent of worldwide domestic traffic of 44 percent for North America, and 38 percent for Asia/Pacific.

It said the Asia/Pacific domestic market experienced the fastest growth of 7.9 percent compared to 2013, driven mainly by Chinese airlines which accounted for approximately 60 percent of the region’s total domestic traffic. The report observed that this was a reflection of improvement in world trade.

It said the Asia/Pacific was the world’s largest air freight market in 2014 with a 40 percent share in terms of world FTKs; whereas Europe and North America came in at 22 percent and 21 percent, respectively, while Middle Eastern airlines recorded the fastest growth in freight traffic in 2014 with a growth of 11.3 percent.

It said the world’s major aircraft manufacturers would have delivered approximately 1,000 new commercial aircraft by the end of 2014, with orders recorded for over 2,000 more.