2016 results released by IATA highlight healthy year for air travel demand

The IATA has announced full-year global passenger traffic results for 2016, revealing that demand (revenue passenger kilometres/RPKs) rose 6.3 per cent compared to 2015. This performance was well ahead of the ten-year average annual growth rate of 5.5 per cent. Capacity rose 6.2 per cent, unadjusted, compared to 2015, pushing the load factor up 0.1 percentage points to a record full-year average high of 80.5 per cent.

“Air travel was a good news story in 2016. Connectivity increased with the establishment of more than 700 new routes. And a $44 fall in average return fares helped to make air travel even more accessible,” said IATA Director General and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac. “As a result, a record 3.7 billion passengers flew safely to their destination. Demand for air travel is still expanding.

“The challenge for governments is to work with the industry to meet that demand with infrastructure that can accommodate the growth, regulation that facilitates growth and taxes that don’t choke growth. If we can achieve that, there is plenty of potential for a safe, secure and sustainable aviation industry to create more jobs and increase prosperity.”

International passenger traffic recorded a 6.7 per cent increase in 2016 compared to 2015; capacity rose 6.9 per cent and load factor fell 0.2 percentage points to 79.6 per cent. All regions recorded year-over-year increases in demand.

Asia Pacific carriers recorded a demand increase of 8.3 per cent compared to 2015, which was the second-fastest increase among the regions. European carriers’ international traffic climbed 4.8 per cent in 2016, with capacity rising 5.0 per cent; despite a decline of 0.1 percentage points to 82.8 per cent, the load factor remains the highest among the regions.

North American airlines saw demand rise 2.6 per cent in 2016, with most of the growth occurring in the second quarter. Traffic was strongest on Pacific routes.