The International Air Transport Association (IATA), says global passengers’ traffic rose by  seven per cent in September 2016, against same period in 2015.

Director General of IATA, Mr Alexandre de Juniac made this known in a statement obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday.

According to de Juniac, this is the strongest year-over-year increase in seven months.

He said that the capacity climbed 6.6 per cent and load factor edged up 0.3 percentage points to 81.1 per cent, while growth in domestic traffic slightly outpaced growth in international traffic.

“September’s growth in passenger demand was healthy. Importantly, this rebound from August weakness suggests that travel demand is showing its resilience in the aftermath of terror attacks.

“We must, of course, be ever-alert to the ongoing terror threat. And overall, the industry is still vulnerable to being buffeted by rising geopolitical tensions, protectionist political agendas, and weak economic fundamentals.

“This will still be a good year for the airline industry’s performance, but our profitability will continue to be hard-won.’’

de Juniac said that the international Revenue Passenger Kilometers

(RPKs) climbed 6.9 per cent with airlines in all regions recording growth compared to 2015.

He said that the total capacity climbed 7.2 per cent, causing load factor to slide 0.2 percentage points to 80.4 per cent.

“African airlines posted an eight per cent rise in traffic which was matched by an equivalent rise in capacity.

“Load factor was almost flat at 72.0 per cent. The strong demand increase largely reflected favourable year-ago comparisons, as economic conditions in much of the continent remain challenging.’’  (NAN)