TOURISM INDIA MARCH 2019 TOURISM INDIA MARCH 2019 | Page 32

N E W S / I N T E R NAT I O NA L
GLOBAL PASSENGER
TRAFFIC IN GROWTH PATH
INTERNATIONAL PASSENGER TRAFFIC IN 2018
CLIMBED 6.3% COMPARED TO 2017
T
he International Air
Transport Association (IATA)
announced global passenger
traffic results for 2018 showing
that demand (revenue passenger
kilometers or RPKs) rose by a healthy
6.5% compared to full-year 2017.
Although this represented a slowdown
compared to the 2017 annual growth
of 8.0%, it was another year of above-
trend growth. Full year 2018 capacity
climbed 6.1%, and load factor edged
up 0.3 percentage point to a record
81.9%, exceeding the previous high set
in 2017.
December RPKs rose 5.3% against
the same month in 2017, the slowest
year-over-year pace since January 2018
and a continuation of the trend that
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Tourism India March 2019
saw demand growth decelerate to an
annualized rate of 5% over the course
of the 2018 second half compared to a
9% pace in the first half.
“2018 was another year of strong
passenger demand, as aviation
continued to support the global
economy. We expect similar, if
somewhat moderating performance in
2019. Nevertheless, slowing growth
in the second half of 2018, coupled
with concerns over issues including
Brexit and US-China trade tensions,
are creating some uncertainty to this
positive outlook,” said Alexandre de
Juniac, IATA’s Director General and
CEO.
International passenger traffic in
2018 climbed 6.3% compared to 2017,
down from 8.6% annual growth the
year before. Capacity rose 5.7% and
load factor climbed by 0.4 percentage
point to 81.2%. All regions recorded
year-over-year increases in traffic,
led by Asia-Pacific. However, North
America and Africa were the only
two regions to post stronger demand
growth in 2018 compared to the prior
year’s performance
Asia-Pacific airlines’ 2018 traffic rose
7.3%, compared to 2017, driven by
robust regional economic expansion
and an increase in route options
for travelers. Although this was a
slowdown from the 10.5% year-over-
year growth recorded in 2017 versus
2016, it was strong enough to lead all
the regions for a second consecutive
year. Capacity rose 6.4%, and load
factor ticked up 0.7 percentage point to
80.6%.
European carriers’ international
traffic climbed 6.6% in 2018 compared
to the previous year, which was down
from 9.4% growth the year before.
Capacity rose 5.9% and load factor
increased 0.6 percentage point to
85.0%, which was the highest for
any region. On a seasonally-adjusted
basis, traffic growth has softened a
bit in recent months, likely owing, in
part, to uncertainty over the economic
backdrop and Brexit.
Middle East carriers’ traffic
increased 4.2% last year, down from
6.9% growth in 2017 and Capacity
climbed 5.2% and load factor slipped
0.7 percentage point to 74.7%.
The deceleration in growth reflects
the impact of policy measures and
geopolitical tensions, including travel