Total global air passenger traffic increased by 9.1%, 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. International air passenger demand jumped 12.3% while domestic passenger demand was up by 4.3%. Total airliner capacity in June increased by 8.5%, y-o-y, with international capacity rising by 12.7% and domestic capacity being augmented by 2.1%.

“Demand grew across all regions as the peak Northern summer travel season began in June,” pointed out IATA director-general Willie Walsh. “And with overall capacity growth lagging demand we saw a very strong average load factor of 85% achieved in both domestic and international operations. Operating with such high load factors is both good and challenging. It makes it even more important for all the stakeholders to operate with equal levels of efficiency to minimise delays and get travellers to their destinations on schedule.”

In terms of IATA’s six regions, the one that saw the greatest y-o-y increase in total demand in June was Africa, which went up by 16.2%, followed by the Asia-Pacific (12.5%) and the Middle East (9.9%). Then came Latin America, with a 9.1% increase, followed by Europe (8.1%) and then North America (5.4%).

In terms of international demand, the region that saw the greatest increase was the Asia-Pacific, with a figure of 22.6%, while capacity within the region rose 22.9%. Africa ranked second, with a 16.9% rise in demand (while airliner capacity increased by 5.8%). Then came Latin America (demand up 15.3%, capacity up 15.6%). The Middle East followed (demand increased by 9.6% and capacity by 9.4%) and then Europe (demand rose by 9.1% and capacity by 9.8%). Finally, North America saw an increase in demand of 6.6% and an augmentation in capacity of 8.6%.

The six major domestic air travel markets monitored by IATA were Australia, Brazil, China, India, Japan and the US. “Domestic demand increased in June, with solid growth in most key markets, bar Japan and Australia,” observed IATA. The market with the strongest y-o-y growth in June was Brazil, at 7.6%, followed by China (5.5%), India (5.2%) and the US (5.1%). The Australian and Japanese markets actually contracted, by -1% and -0.2%, respectively.

“As the Olympic Games unfold in Paris there is pride across the aviation industry for its continuing role in supporting the Olympic story by bringing many of the athletes, fans and officials together,” highlighted Walsh. “It is a great reminder of how aviation transforms our very big world into a global community.”