Gulf region to lead air traffic surge

The emerging economies of the Middle East and Asia-Pacific will see the strongest international passenger growth with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3 per cent and 5.7 per cent, respectively, during 2013-17 period, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in its latest forecast.

“The fact that the Asia-Pacific region, led by China and the Middle East, will deliver the strongest growth over the forecast period is not surprising. Governments in both areas recognise the value of the connectivity provided by aviation to drive global trade and development. Similar opportunities exist for developing regions in Africa and Latin America. To reap the benefit, governments in those regions will need to change their view of aviation from a luxury cash cow to a utilitarian powerful draft horse to pull the economy forward,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director-General and CEO.

This is followed by Africa and Latin America with compound annual growth rates of 5.3 per cent and 4.5 per cent, respectively.

The global airline industry forecast for 2013-2017 period shows that airlines expect to see a 31 per cent increase in passenger numbers between 2012 and 2017. By 2017, total passenger numbers are expected to rise to 3.91 billion — an increase of 930 million passengers over the 2.98 billion
carried in 2012.

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Gulf region to lead air traffic surge