Worldwide international air
travel demand grew by nearly 12 percent in June, the International Air
Transport Association reported on Wednesday, noting particular strength in
Asian, Middle Eastern and Latin American traffic. IATA, however, warned the
pace of traffic recovery could slow in the coming months.
Though below the average
worldwide rate, international traffic on North American airlines grew nearly 11
percent in June, while European carriers continue to lag those in all other
regions.
"The industry continues
to recover faster than expected, but with sharp regional differences,"
IATA director general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said. "Europe is
recovering at half the speed of Asia with passenger growth of 7.8 percent
compared to the 15.5 percent growth in Asia/Pacific."
Though he called the overall
traffic recovery encouraging, Bisignani said he expects the pace of
international passenger growth to tail off. "The question is how long can
the industry maintain the double-digit momentum," he said. "Business
confidence remains high, and there is no indication that the recovery will
stall any time soon. But, with government stimulus packages tailing off and
restocking largely completed, we do expect some slowing over the months
ahead."
Among the peak performers in
June, Middle Eastern carriers posted international demand growth of 18 percent,
while Latin American carriers saw international passenger traffic grow by
nearly 15 percent.