Sunday, April 26, 2026
29.6 C
Lagos

African Airlines Report 4.7% Passenger Growth in June

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic data for June showing that demand (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) rose by 5.2% compared to the year-ago period.
This was up slightly from the 4.8% increase recorded in May (revised). However, the upward trend in seasonally-adjusted traffic has moderated since January. June capacity (available seat kilometers or ASKs) increased by 5.6%, and load factor slipped 0.3 percentage points to 80.7%.
“The demand for travel continues to increase, but at a slower pace. The fragile and uncertain economic backdrop, political shocks and a wave of terrorist attacks are all contributing to a softer demand environment,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO. 
June 2016 
(% year-on-year)
World share¹

RPK

ASK

PLF 
(%-pt)²         
PLF 
(level)³  
Total Market
100.0%
5.2%
5.6%
-0.3%      
80.7%
Africa
2.2%
3.2%
5.9%
-1.7%
65.0%
Asia Pacific
31.5%
9.0%
7.2%
1.3%
79.1%
Europe
26.7%
2.0%
2.7%
-0.6%
82.9%
Latin America
5.4%
4.6%
1.9%
2.1%
80.8%
Middle East
9.4%
7.3%
14.4%
-4.6%
70.3%
North America
24.7%
4.3%
4.3%
0.0%
86.3%

% of industry RPKs in 2015 ²Year-on-year change in load factor ³Load factor level

International Passenger Markets
June international passenger demand rose 5.0% compared to June 2015. All regions recorded growth, led by airlines in Latin America. Capacity climbed 6.4%, causing load factor to slide 1.1 percentage points to 79.4%.

Asia-Pacific airlines’ June traffic increased 8.2% compared to the year-ago period. However, most of the growth relates to the strong upward trend in traffic seen in the final months of 2015 and into 2016, with June demand barely higher than in February. This could be a natural pause, but possibly is also a sign of Asian passengers being put off travel by terrorism in Europe. Capacity rose 7.3% and load factor inched up 0.6 percentage points to 78.2%.

European carriers saw demand rise 2.1%, the smallest increase among regions, reflecting the negative impact of recent terrorism. While demand tends to recover reasonably quickly after such events, the repeated nature of the attacks may have a more lasting impact. Capacity climbed 3.4% and load factor slipped 1.1% percentage points to 83.3%.

Middle Eastern carriers posted a 7.5% traffic increase in June, which was well down on the double-digit growth recorded earlier in the year. In part this could be owing to the timing of Ramadan, which tends to depress traffic growth Capacity rose 14.3%, which caused load factor to dive 4.4 percentage points to 69.9%.

North American airlines’ demand rose 4.0% compared to June a year ago, which was well up on the 0.5% year-over-year growth recorded in May. Capacity climbed 4.7%, causing load factor to dip 0.6 percentage points to 84.3%, still the highest among regions.

Latin American airlines experienced an 8.8% rise in demand compared to the same month last year, suggesting that carriers there have flown out of the soft patch seen in the first quarter. Capacity increased by 5.2% and load factor rose 2.7 percentage points to 82.4%.

African airlines’ traffic climbed 4.7% in June, an indication that the strong upward trend in demand that began in the second half of 2015 has paused. Capacity rose 7.4%, with the result that load factor slipped 1.7 percentage points to 64.4%, lowest among regions.

The Bottom Line : “The latest figures show that aviation and aviation related tourism delivers $2.7 trillion in economic impact and supports some 62.7 million jobs worldwide. It is a powerful force for good in our world. It is too soon to know whether recent terrorist attacks will have a long-term negative influence on demand, nor what will be the impact of Brexit and the events in Turkey. But it is vital that governments recognize and support aviation’s ability to contribute to global economic well-being and better understanding across cultural and political borders,” said Tyler.

spot_img
spot_img
spot_img

Hot this week

Ecobank Nigeria, DHL Equip Nigerian SMEs to Compete Beyond Local Markets

Participants with staff members of Ecobank and DHL at...

QEDNG Summit 2026 Set for August 11 in Lagos

The QEDNG Creative Powerhouse Summit will hold its second edition on...

NLNG MD, Adeleye Falade, Commends Rivers Police, Seeks Stronger Security Collaboration

Adeleye Falade, MD, NLNG, (centre); Olakunle Osobu, Deputy MD...

Renaissance MD, Tony Attah, Predicts Merger of Operators at Nigerian Content Lecture

The Managing Director of Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited,...

NCDMB, Seplat Firm Up Plans for Take-off of Centre of Excellence at DELSU

 Key Management staff of the Nigerian Content Development and...

Topics

Fidelity Bank MD Not Part of Woobs Case

Reports published by Sahara Reporters on June 25 claimed...

UN Broadband Commission Adopts Plan of Action Against COVID-19

    An emergency virtual meeting of the Broadband Commission for...

The Business Case for Housing Microfinance in Sub-Saharan Africa

A new study from Habitat for Humanity says that...

Ghost Workers: FG Seeks BVN Policy in Microfinance Banks

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has strongly...

Kayode Kolade, 51, Wins Inaugural Heirs Insurance Retirement Dream Competition

L–R: Patrick Okorie, Regional Head, South, Heirs General Insurance;...

NNPCL: Ogoni Re-entry is a Beacon of Reconciliation through Collaboration

The re-entry into Ogoniland marks a historic turning point...

17 Insurance Firms Await June 30 NAICOM Deadline

A total of 17 insurance companies are racing to secure approval of their 2014 annual accounts by the industry regulator, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) by the close of work on Tuesday, June 30, 2015. Already, 23 operators have received NAICOM approval on their account. Click here to make lazy tweet
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img