Domestic passenger traffic up 22.7 pc in Oct: IATA

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SME Times News Bureau | 08 Dec, 2016
India's domestic passenger traffic grew by 22.7 per cent in October, a global airlines' association said on Wednesday.

"Domestic demand climbed 5.6 per cent in October compared to October 2015, which was matched by a similar increase in capacity," the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in its global passenger traffic data for October.

"There was continued wide variation in individual country results, with India and China enjoying double-digit growth rates while other markets experienced much slower growth and Brazil remained in decline."

According to the data, India's domestic revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) and available seat kilometres (ASK) were the highest amongst the major aviation markets such as Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, the Russian Federation and the US.

The global airlines association's data showed that India's domestic RPK -- a gauge that measures actual passenger traffic -- rose by 22.7 per cent in October compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.

The October data disclosed that India's domestic passenger traffic growth was followed by that of China at 14.1 per cent, the Russian Federation at 2.5 per cent, Australia at 2.2 per cent, the US at 1.6 per cent, and Japan at 0.9 per cent.

However, Brazil reported a decline in its domestic passenger traffic at 5.5 per cent.

Further, India's domestic ASK -- which measures available passenger capacity -- surged by 21.2 per cent in the month under review, followed by that of China at 12.4 per cent and the US and the Russian Federation at 3.1 per cent.

In addition, the global airlines association said the global RPK in July rose by 5.9 per cent, while the ASK climbed by six per cent each.

The international passenger demand for the month under review rose by 5.8 per cent compared to October 2015, which was a slow-down on the 7.1 per cent year-on-year growth rate recorded in September.

As per Alexandre de Juniac, Director General and Chief Executive, IATA, passenger demand growth in October was consistent with long-term trends but represented a deterioration compared to September.

"While the negative traffic impact from terror attacks and political instability in parts of the world has receded, the long downward trend in yield -- which helped to stimulate travel--has levelled off," said Juniac.

"Furthermore, the recent OPEC (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) agreement to restrict oil production suggests fuel prices have ended their slide."