Unrest in Middle East slows global air traffic

Asia-Pacific airlines reported a major slowdown to a three per cent growth in February,half of the 6.3 per cent recorded for January. A capacity increase of 6.6 per cent pushed the load factor down to 75.4 per cent,the latest figures published by the global airline body said.

Middle East airlines saw demand growth fall from 12 per cent in January to 8.4 in February,the IATA analysis said,adding that political unrest in Bahrain,Yemen and Syria was expected to impact on the regional markets in March.

Europe’s carriers recorded 7.4 per cent growth compared to February 2010,which was slower than the 7.9 per cent reported in January. It reflected the impact of fall off in trans-Mediterranean traffic to North Africa due to the unrest in the region.

On the air cargo front,it said the freight carried by Asia-Pacific carriers fell by 4.5 per cent in February compared to last year and by 6.6 per cent compared to January.

Observing that industry fundamentals were good,IATA Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said,”Extraordinary circumstances have made the first quarter of 2011 very difficult. Another series of shocks is denting the industry’s recovery from the recession.”

In this context,he referred to the unrest in Egypt and Tunisia,which was spreading across the Middle East and North Africa,and the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

On the rising oil prices,the IATA forecast that,with an average oil price of USD 96 per barrel,fuel would account for 29 per cent of average operating costs,with a total global fuel bill of USD 166 billion.

“For every dollar increase in the price of a barrel of oil,the industry must recover an additional USD 1.6 billion in added costs,” the analysis said.

Bisignani said it would be “a challenge for airlines to recover the added costs of fuel. Our pathetic 1.4 per cent expected margin for 2011 is under considerable pressure.”