According to data issued by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), airlines in the Middle East recorded an increase in passenger traffic by 5.4% in January, the fourth month in a row in terms of high demand, reflecting the strong performance of airline routes across Europe And the Middle East, the Middle East and Asia, which have not been affected significantly by the cancellation of some air routes as a result of the Corona virus.

Passenger traffic

In detail, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) revealed air passenger traffic data for January 2020, which shows an increase in demand (which is measured based on the revenue of one passenger per km) by 2.4% compared to the same period in 2019, which represents a decrease by 4.6% in terms of annual increase compared to last month.

This performance is the lowest monthly increase since April 2010, when the volcanic ash cloud crisis occurred in Europe, which led to the widespread closure of airspace and the cancellation of many flights.

“January marks the beginning of the decrease in air travel, due to the spread of the Coronavirus, which was caused by the delay in imposing travel restrictions on flights coming from China until January 23, which led to the registration of The slowest air travel was around 10 years ago.

January results

International passenger traffic increased by 2.5% compared to the results recorded in January 2019, which is a decrease from the growth of 3.7% in the previous year. With the exception of Latin America, all regions recorded growth in passenger traffic, with airlines in Africa and the Middle East leading, slightly affected by the outbreak of the Corona virus last January. Capacity increased by 0.9%, and load factor increased by 1.2 percentage points to 81.1%.

Airlines in the Middle East recorded a 5.4% increase in passenger traffic in January, which is the fourth consecutive month in terms of high demand, reflecting the strong performance of airline routes across Europe, the Middle East, Middle East and Asia, which was not significantly affected by the cancellation of some Air routes as a result of Corona virus at that time.

And the airlines in the Asia Pacific region achieved an increase in passenger traffic by 2.5% compared to the same period last year, which recorded the slowest growth since the beginning of 2013, and a decline from the increase rate in December, which amounted to 3.9%.

European Aviation

In January, European airlines saw a rise in passenger traffic by 1.6% year-on-year, reflecting a 2.7% decline compared to December. The current results were affected by the decline in GDP growth for many of the leading economies during the fourth quarter of 2019, in addition to canceling many flights due to the spread of the Corona virus in late January.

While airlines in North America witnessed an increase in the international demand rate by 2.9% compared to January last year, representing a decrease of 5.2% compared to the growth rate in December, although many flights to Asia were not canceled in January.

Latin American airlines witnessed a decrease in demand in January, which amounted to 3.7% compared to the same period last year, which represented an additional retreat from the decline that occurred in December by 1.3%.

Aviation sector flexibility

"The spread of the Corona virus is a challenge to the resilience of the aviation sector and the global economy, as airlines see a double-digit percentage in demand, and passenger traffic on many air routes has decreased," said Director-General and CEO of the International Air Transport Association, Alexander de Juniac.

He added, “In response to these emergencies, governments should strive to maintain the availability of air routes. The suspension of the use of the principle of (time slots 80/20), and the reduction of flight fees at airports that witness a significant decrease in demand, are important steps to help airlines secure support during times of crisis to reach safety.