Global total air passenger demand fell by -1.7%, year-on-year (y-o-y), in June, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has reported. (IATA is the global representative body for the airline industry.) If the Middle East was excluded, the decline was -0.6%. International demand was down -0.9%, but if the Middle East was discounted, it actually grew by 1.1%. Domestic demand fell by -3%.

Total capacity was down -1.3%, y-o-y, with international capacity declining by -0.6% and domestic capacity falling by -2.4%. The total global load factor in June was 84.2%, which was a -0.4 percentage point (ppt) decrease, y-o-y. The international load factor was 84.2% (-0.2 ppt, y-o-y) and the domestic figure was 84% (-0.5 ppt, y-o-y).

“This [contraction] is largely due to domestic market declines in China, the US and Japan, and weak but improving international demand for Middle East carriers,” explained outgoing IATA director-general Willie Walsh. “While Middle East performance improved, renewed tensions will not help the region’s recovery and the knock-on impact of rising fuel prices will continue to burden travellers with higher airfares.”

With regard to total demand, of IATA’s six regions, Africa had by far the strongest y-o-y growth in June, at 3.8%. Next came Latin America and the Caribbean, at 1.5%, and then Europe, at 0.8%. The other three regions experienced declines, with North America recording the smallest fall (-1.1%), followed by the Asia-Pacific (-2%) and the Middle East (-13.9%).

Concerning international demand, Africa again recorded the strongest y-o-y growth, at 6.7%, with Latin America and the Caribbean again second (with 3.5%) and Europe retaining third place (with 1.5%). But in this category, the Asia-Pacific also recorded growth, of 0.4%. North America saw a decline of -1% and the Middle East a fall of -14%.

The six biggest domestic air passenger markets in the world were Australia, Brazil, China, India, Japan and the US. Together, they accounted for 79.4% of all domestic air travel, worldwide. Of these, in June, only Brazil recorded y-o-y demand growth, of 0.9%. Australian demand was flat (zero per cent growth). The rest all saw declines, of -0.5% in India, -1.2% in the US, -3.8% in Japan, and -5.2% in China.

“People continue to travel, which is an important contributor to global economic growth,” he affirmed. “There is no doubt, however, that stabilising the situation in the Middle East and normalising oil supplies would improve prospects for airlines, economies, and societies the world over.”