Middle East airlines suffers slowdown in traffic growth

Carriers hit hardest on North American routes due to electronics, visa bans

Growth in passenger traffic for Middle Eastern airlines slowed down in 2017 compared to 2016, making the Middle East the only region in the world to see a slowdown in annual growth.

According to the latest report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), passenger traffic on the region’s carriers went up 6.6 per cent in 2017, but the growth was still slower compared to 2016.

The market segment flying to and from North America was hit hardest, the report said, due to factors including the ban on carrying large electronic devices on board, as well as US travel bans affecting citizens from certain countries in the region.

The Middle East carriers’ share of global traffic, reaching 9.5 per cent in 2017, fell for the first time in 20 years. Capacity, meanwhile, climbed 6.4 per cent.

Globally, passenger demand rose 7.6 per cent in 2017 compared to 2016, well above the 10-year average annual growth rate of 5.5 per cent.

The growth in passenger traffic on Middle Eastern airlines comes in comparison to a 9.3 per cent jump for Latin American airlines in 2017, the fastest 2011.

North American airlines also saw their fastest demand growth since 2011, IATA said, with full-year traffic rising 4.8 per cent compared to 2016. rate they’ve seen since

Economic boost

“2017 got off to a very strong start and largely stayed that way throughout the year, sustained by a broad-based pickup in economic conditions,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and chief executive officer.

“While the underlying economic outlook remains supportive in 2018, rising cost inputs, most notably fuel, suggest we are unlikely to see the same degree of demand stimulation from lower fares that occurred in the first part of 2017.”

Elsewhere in the world, African airlines saw traffic rise 7.5 per cent compared to 2016, as European carriers’ international traffic climbed 8.2 per cent in 2017 over the previous year.

Asian Pacific carriers posted annual demand growth of 9.4 per cent compared to 2016, driven by strong regional economic expansion and an increase in route options for travellers. This was the first time since 1993 that Asia Pacific led all regions in annual growth rate, IATA said in its report.