Growth in demand for scheduled flights was pegged back in February as the airline industry was buffeted by the impact of political unrest in North Africa.
IATA warned that the aftermath of the Japan earthquake, tsunami and nuclear alert will “certainly” further dampen demand from this month (March).
Latest figures show international scheduled passenger traffic rose by 6% last month, “significantly down” on the 8.4% increase achieved in January.
The political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa is estimated to have cut international traffic by about 1%.
“As such it is responsible almost entirely for the slippage in passenger demand growth,” IATA said. Director general and chief executive Giovanni Bisignani said: “Another series of shocks is denting the industry’s recovery from the recession.
“As the unrest in Egypt and Tunisia spreads across the Middle East and North Africa, demand growth across the region is taking a step back.
“The tragic earthquake and its aftermath in Japan will most certainly see a further dampening of demand from March. The industry fundamentals are good. But extraordinary circumstances have made the first quarter of 2011 very difficult.”
February passenger load factors stood at 73%, a drop of 2.2 percentage points on a seasonally adjusted basis on peak levels as increased capacity has “consistently exceeded” growth in demand.
European carriers recorded 7.4% growth year on year against a 9.8% increase in capacity, down from the 7.9% growth reported for January showing the impact of fall off in trans-Mediterranean traffic to North Africa due to the unrest in the region, IATA said.