“Healthy but moderating” global airline passenger results have been released by Iata for November amid a slowing global economy and Brexit uncertainty.
Demand of 6.2% fell from 6.3% in October while capacity grew by 6.8% year-on-year.
The load factor dipped 0.4 percentage point to 80% – only the third time in two years that lt fell on a year-to-year basis.
Iata director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said: “Traffic is solid. But there are clear signs that growth is moderating in line with the slowing global economy.
“We still expect 6% demand growth this year. But trade tensions, protective tariffs and Brexit are all uncertainties that overhang the industry.”
European carriers saw demand increase by 9%, reprsenting a nine-month high.
But Iata warned: “Given the mixed signs on the economic backdrop in the region it is unclear whether this pace of growth can be sustained.”
Capacity climbed 9.1% and load factor slipped 0.1 percentage point to 82.1% – still the highest globally.