Africa-Press – Mauritius. Total air passenger demand around the globe was up 3.3% in the first quarter on a yearly basis, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Wednesday.
Total air capacity, measured in available seat kilometers, was up 5.3% over the same period, the group stated.
The load factor was at 80.7% in March, down 1.6 percentage points versus the same month last year.
In March, international passenger demand was up 4.9% and domestic demand rose by 0.9%, on a yearly basis.
Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general, said: “There remains a lot of speculation around the potential impacts of tariffs and other economic headwinds on travel.
“While the small decline in demand in North America needs to be watched carefully, March numbers continued to show a global pattern of growth for air travel.”
He added that this situation means the challenges associated with accommodating more people who need to travel – specifically alleviating supply chain problems and ensuring sufficient airport and air traffic management capacity – remain urgent.
Air cargo
The IATA also said, in a separate release on Tuesday, that total air cargo demand rose 4.4% in March.
Air cargo capacity, measured in available cargo ton-kilometers, expanded by 4.3%.
Walsh said March cargo volumes were strong; it is possible that this is partly a front-loading of demand as some businesses tried to beat the well-telegraphed 2 April tariff announcement by the Trump administration.
“The uncertainty over how much of the 2 April proposals will be implemented may eventually weigh on trade,” he noted.
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