Middle East passenger demand surges 9.6% in June

All regions showed strong growth for international passenger markets

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Dubai International Airport (DXB), one of the world’s busiest airports, expects to handle a record 91 million passengers in 2024 as demand for travel continues to surge. — File photo

Published: Thu 1 Aug 2024, 5:42 PM

Middle Eastern airlines recorded a 9.6 per cent year-on-year increase in passenger demand in June, higher than the global growth of 9.1 per cent, reflecting the remarkable surge in air traffic at the GCC airports.

Capacity of the region’s carriers increased 9.4 per cent year-on-year in June and the load factor was 79.7 per cent (+0.1 percentage point compared to June 2023) compared to the 8.5 per cent increase year-on-year in total global capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), data released by the International Air Transport Association (Iata) shows.

Globally, international passenger demand rose 12.3 per cent compared to June 2023. Capacity was up 12.7 per cent year-on-year and the load factor improved to 85.0 per cent (-0.3 percentage point in June 2023). Domestic passenger demand rose 4.3 per cent compared to June 2023; capacity was up 2.1 per cent year-on-year and the load factor was 85 per cent (+1.7 percentage point compared to June 2023).

Dubai International Airport (DXB), one of the world’s busiest airports, expects to handle a record 91 million passengers in 2024 as demand for travel continues to surge, driven by network expansion by Emirates and flydubai. The airport handled more than 23 million passengers in the first three months of this year – up 8.4 per cent annually – marking its “busiest quarter in history.”

Abu Dhabi Airports has reported a 33.5 per cent rise to nearly 14 million passengers for the first half of 2024, underscoring significant increases in passenger traffic, flight movements and cargo volumes.

Willie Walsh, Iata’s director general, said all regions showed strong growth for international passenger markets in June 2024 compared to June 2023.

“Demand grew across all regions as the peak Northern summer travel season began in June. And with overall capacity growth lagging demand we saw a very strong average load factor of 85% achieved in both domestic and international operations. Operating with such high load factors is both good and challenging. It makes it even more important for all the stakeholders to operate with equal levels of efficiency to minimize delays and get travelers to their destinations on schedule,” said Walsh.

“As the Olympic Games unfold in Paris there is pride across the aviation industry for its continuing role in supporting the Olympic story by bringing many of the athletes, fans, and officials together. It is a great reminder of how aviation transforms our very big world into a global community,” said Walsh.

In cargo demand, Middle Eastern carriers saw 13.8 per cent year-on-year growth in June. The Middle East–Europe market performed particularly well with 30.2 per cent annual growth, ahead of Middle East–Asia which grew by 15.1 per cent year-on-year.

Globally, total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs), rose by 14.1 per cent compared to June 2023 levels (15.6 per cent for international operations). This is the seventh consecutive month of double-digit year-on-year growth. Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometres (ACTKs), increased by 8.8 per cent compared to June 2023 (10.8 per cent for international operations). Total half-year (H1) demand increased by 13.4 per cent compared to H1 2023, by 4.3 per cent compared to H1 2022, and by 0.02 per cent compared to H1 2021.