African airlines recorded a 6.5 per cent increase in passengers’ traffic in 2018 compared to the six per cent annual growth recorded in 2017.
Mr Alexandre de Juniac, the Director-General, International Air Transport Association (IATA), said on Thursday in a statement in Lagos.
de Juniac said the strong performance took place in spite of the mixed economic backdrop of the continent’s largest economies, Nigeria and South Africa.
According to him, capacity rose by 4.4 per cent, and load factor jumped by 1.4 percentage points to 71.0 per cent.
He said Asia-Pacific Airlines’ 2018 traffic rose to 7.3 per cent compared to 2017 driven by robust regional economic expansion and an increase in route options for travellers.
The IATA chief said European carriers’ international traffic climbed 6.6 per cent in 2018 compared to the previous year, while Middle East carriers’ traffic increased 4.2 per cent compared to 2017.
He said North American airlines had their fastest demand growth since 2011, with full-year traffic rising by 5.0 per cent compared to 2017 and Latin American airlines’ traffic also climbed 6.9 per cent in 2017.