Air traffic penalised by upheavals in the Arab world

These are the findings of the monthly figures announced on 29 March by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). IATA estimates that the political upheavals in North Africa and the Middle East have had a negative impact of 1 % on international traffic. While passenger traffic rose by 8.4 % in January, the increase was limited to 6.0 % in February. The African market was logically the hardest hit, with Egypt and Tunisia accounting for 18 % of the total, and saw traffic fall by 1.3 % compared with last year. The impact of the events is even more marked in comparison with January 2011, with absolute traffic, measured in passenger-kilometres, recording a fall of -13.1 % from one month to the next. Middle Eastern airlines are also feeling the impact, with demand growth slowing to +8.4 % in February compared with +12.0 % in January. As a result of lower trans-Mediterranean traffic to North Africa, European carriers saw traffic growth limited to +7.4 % in February compared with +7.9 % in January. It was not the political upheavals in the Arab world but a calendar effect, with the Chinese New Year falling in February this year, which penalised traffic on Asian carriers. Asian carriers recorded an increase of +3.0 % for the month, down sharply on January (+6.3 %). For their part, American carriers reported traffic growth of +6.7 %, and Latin American airlines continued to post good results (+11.8 %). After the upheaval in the Arab world, air traffic in March is likely to be affected by the tragic earthquake that shook Japan. "The consequences of this will certainly have reduced demand further in March. The fundamentals of the industry are good. But the extraordinary circumstances have made the first quarter of 2011 very difficult", said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's Director General. Not to mention the likely rise in fuel prices, which could have an impact on the year as a whole.