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Cape Town - The impact of disruptions to air traffic following the Brussels terrorist attacks is visible in the April air passenger report released by the International Air Transport Association (Iata) on Monday.
European carriers showed the biggest slowdown in the total international growth rate after the terrorist attacks in mid-March.
''As is usually the pattern following such shock events, we expect traffic to recover somewhat over the coming months and for the solid upward trend in traffic to reestablish itself," the report noted.
According to the analysis, the global air passenger market seemed off to a good start in 2016, but its robust upward trend in year-on-year (y/y) growth has now weakened and reflects current subdued economic conditions. In Iata's view, lower oil prices were a big stimulus on market growth at the beginning of 2016.
Annual growth in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) dropped to 4.6% in April. This is the slowest pace since January 2015. According to Iata, the decline was partly attributable to the disruptions which followed the Brussels terrorist attacks in March.
The 6.4% y/y increase in industry-wide RPKs in the first four months 2016 was flattened somewhat by the fact that 2016 is a leap year, Iata pointed out. Adjusting for the extra day in February, it estimates that traffic grew by 5.5% in the first four months of 2016 – slightly ahead of its average growth rate over the past decade.
Africa showing strong growth
African airlines carry less than 2% of total global air passenger traffic but, according to the April report, the continent once again posted strong annual growth. African airlines showed 9.9% y/y growth in April.
''The turnaround in fortunes from a number of difficult years coincides with expansion of long-haul networks by the region’s carriers – particularly Ethiopian Airlines,'' stated the report.
Annual growth in international RPKs slowed to 4.8% in April, from 6.3% in March. This is the slowest pace in two years. African airlines as a whole saw international air passenger traffic growth slowing from 11.2% in March 2016 to 9% in April 2016.
