Demand for Australian domestic air travel is experiencing weaker demand than any other major region worldwide, according to a new IATA report.
The Internal Air Transport Association (IATA) air passenger results for 2015 show relatively flat growth amongst Australian domestic travel due to a slowdown in flights to mining, oil and gas sectors.
Around 3.2 percent more Aussies flew locally in December last year compared to the same month 2014 – a figure relatively low compared to the global 6.3 percent spike in domestic travel. It was also well below India’s 25 percent increase or China’s 8.2 percent growth.
While IATA attributed the flat figure to a downturn in services, it could also be credited to the increased number of Australians booking cruises departing from local ports, which takes away the need for air travel.
In total, global air passenger traffic grew by 6.5 percent – the fastest pace since the post-GFC rebound in 2012 and above the 10-year average annual growth of 5.5 percent.
IATA found that the total traffic growth outstripped the rise in capacity and the global load factor reached an all-time high of 80.3 percent in 2015.
The fastest growth in international demand was registered by the Middle East, with a 10.5 percent increase. Middle Eastern carriers’ share of the total international traffic rose to 14.2 percent last year, overtaking North American carriers.
