IATA: Nov Passenger Demand Up 5.7%; U.S. Alone Declines

SECAUCUS, NJ (DTN) – Global air passenger demand rose 5.7% year-on-year in November, with North America seeing the smallest growth and the U.S. being the only domestic market to shrink, the International Air Traffic Association (IATA) reported Thursday (1/8).

The 4% year-on-year growth in North American air passenger volumes last month trailed all regions from Africa to Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America-Caribbean and the Middle East, IATA data showed. The top three regions were Africa, which witnessed an 11.2% expansion followed by the Middle East at 9.6% and Asia Pacific at 9.3%.

In the domestic passenger market, the U.S. experienced a 1.8% slide in volumes as Brazil led with a 8.3% growth, followed by India with 7.7%  and China with 6.3%.

“Domestic U.S. traffic was the only major market to see a fall in demand, perhaps due to the government shutdown,” IATA Director General Willie Walsh said in a statement, highlighting the data.

The U.S. federal government was shutdown between October and mid-November due to funding issues.

Global passenger load factors also hit a record high of 83.7% year-on-year in November as carriers accommodated growing passenger demand despite constraints in airplane supply, IATA said.