Nigerian Carriers, Others Record 2.1% Traffic Rise

• Nigerian Carriers, Others Record 2.1% Traffic Rise

The International Air Transport Association says Nigerian airlines as well as other African airlines recorded a 2.1 per cent traffic increase in May.

The association said the increase rose from just 1.1 per cent growth in April, adding that capacity climbed 0.1 per cent and load factor increased 1.3 percentage points to 67.0 per cent.

“Traffic between Africa and Europe continues to expand strongly, but economic growth in South Africa – a key regional economy and air transport market– contracted sharply in the first quarter and this is adversely impacting air passenger demand,” the IATA said in its global passenger traffic results for May.

It stated that global demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers, rose 4.5 per cent compared to the same month in 2018.

“This was in line with the revised April traffic growth of 4.4 per cent and above the recent trough of 3.1 per cent year-on-year growth recorded in March. However, it remains below the 20-year average growth rate of around 5.5 per cent. Capacity climbed by a modest 2.7 per cent and load factor rose 1.4 percentage points to 81.5 per cent, surpassing last year’s record load factor of 80.1 per cent,” the IATA added.

IATA’s Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Alexandre de Juniac, said passenger demand growth had slowed compared to the past two years.

“This is in line with slumping global trade, rising trade tensions and weakening business confidence. In this challenging environment, airlines are managing capacity carefully in order to optimise efficiency,” he said.

The association said international traffic demand rose 4.3 per cent in May over the year-ago period, which was down from 5.1 per cent growth in April while domestic traffic increased 4.8 per cent in May compared to the same month 2018, and well above the three per cent year-over-year rise recorded in April.

De Junaic said, “Aviation is the business of freedom, connecting people and trade and creating new opportunities for growth and development. But to be effective, the business of freedom relies on borders that are open to the movement of people and goods—and aircraft. In recent weeks, we have seen extensive airspace closures owing to political tensions.

“These closures have contributed to longer and less efficient routings, higher operating costs and increased carbon emissions. Without any compromise on safety, it is vital that governments work to minimise airspace closures so that the Business of Freedom can continue to deliver its benefits as efficiently as possible.”