Mideast carriers among top three in freight and passengers

Dec. 6, 2012

Dec. 07--DUBAI -- Middle Eastern carriers are expected to lead the world in terms of growth in international freight by 2016 while the region will record the third fastest growth rate for international passengers among all regions in the same year, according to a latest forecast by an international aviation body.

"International freight demand in the Middle East will grow at 4.9 per cent, the strongest growth among the regions," the International Air Transport Association (Iata) said on Thursday. "The Middle East is expected to have the third fastest growth rate at 6.6 per cent," the Geneva-based aviation body forecast said for international passenger traffic in the region.

Africa will report the strongest growth of 6.8 per cent in international passengers while Asia-Pacific will get the second position at 6.7 per cent, according to Iata.

Middle Eastern carriers continued to record a double-digit growth throughout the year for international passengers while global growth rate for international traffic remained at single-digit in 2012 that reflects that the region on the back of top Gulf carriers would improve its ranking gradually, according to a senior aviation analyst. "The geographic advantage that the UAE has will continue to be robust and grow from strength to strength. Given current growth rates, it won't be long before the Middle East starts to outflank the top two regions," Saj Ahmed, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research, told

In its industry traffic forecast Iata said that airlines expect to welcome some 3.6 billion passengers in 2016. That's about 800 million more than the 2.8 billion passengers carried by airlines in 2011.

These figures are revealed in the Iata Airline Industry Forecast 2012-2016. This industry consensus outlook for system-wide passenger growth sees passenger numbers expanding by an average of 5.3 per cent per annum between 2012 and 2016. There will be almost 500 million new passengers travelling on domestic routes and 331 million new passengers on international services during the forecast period, Iata said.

International passenger numbers are expected to grow from 1.11 billion in 2011 to 1.45 billion passengers in 2016, bringing 331 million passengers for a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.3 per cent.

Globally, aviation supports some 57 million jobs and $2.2 trillion in economic activity.

"Despite the current economic uncertainty, expected demand for connectivity remains strong. That's good news for the global economy. Growing air transport links generate jobs and underpin economic growth in all economies. But exploiting these will require governments to recognise aviation's value with policies that do not stifle innovation, tax regimes that do not punish success and investments to enable infrastructure to keep up with growth," Iata director general and chief executive officer Tony Tyler said in a statement.

Copyright 2012 - Khaleej Times, Dubai, United Arab Emirates