In November, international traffic rose by 8.2 %, with a load factor of 75.6 %. The clear upturn in activity was driven by emerging countries. The top growth regions were the Middle East, driven by the irresistible expansion of the Gulf carriers (+18.3 % in revenue-passenger-km), followed by Africa (+13.31 %), Asia/Pacific (+9.7 %) and Latin America (+9 %).
In comparison, Europe is looking rather bleak. Growth in passenger revenue/km was 5.2 % for the first eleven months of 2010. According to IATA, traffic in Europe has returned to levels higher - but only marginally - than at the start of 2008, just before the recession. And the bad weather in December, which paralysed European air traffic for several days, is likely to result in a slowdown in growth. The bad weather did have one advantage, however: Europe's major airports have promised to plan ahead for the future and put more resources into avoiding traffic paralysis. In Paris, Frankfurt and London, for example.
2010 better than expected
After predicting a mediocre 2010, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) - which represents 93 % of the world's scheduled airline traffic - has regained confidence in the results of recent months. According to its Director General Giovanni Bisignani, passenger traffic has returned to a growth rate of between 5 % and 6 %, returning to its historical averages.
