Propped up by discounted air tickets and increased holiday travelling, India has become the fastest growing aviation market in the world in June, as indicated by the statistics available with International Air Transport Association (IATA).
In June, the country registered a year-on-year growth of 16.3% in domestic air passenger traffic, which is more than double the global growth of 6.5% during the same period.
India posted the highest growth among the seven major international markets including the US and China. China, which is witnessing an apparent slow down in its economy, trailed India, clocking a growth of 12.1%. Russian Federation saw a growth of 9.5%. Australia, on the other hand, witnessed a decline of 2.1%.
June was another healthy month for air connectivity, although slower trade activity in emerging Asia-Pacific markets and the impact of the Greek debt crisis on European travel remain worrisome,” said Tony Tyler, director general and CEO of IATA.
Commenting on the importance of improved air connectivity under the new aviation policy, Tyler said, “That is what we are hoping for in India with the imminent announcement of its new aviation policy. Improved air connectivity would make a major contribution to the government’s efforts to make it easier to do business in India.
For that, we need a policy framework that reduces onerous taxes and regulation and that continues to improve infrastructure and cost efficiency. Aviation has much to contribute to any country’s economy. But it will not happen by accident.”
The peak travel season should serve as a reminder to all governments of the importance of aviation policies focused on enabling aviation to catalyse economic growth.
In air-cargo sector, the data for global air freight markets showed a fall in demand in June. Air freight volumes measured in freight tonne kilomtres rose just 1.2% compared with a year ago, indicating of a consistent fall in trade activities and weaker than expected global growth.
The IATA report states that Asia-Pacific carriers saw a fall of 0.3% in freight tonne kilometres in June 2015 compared to June 2014, and capacity expanded 4.0%.
The region has experienced a notable slowdown in imports and exports over recent months, and latest data shows emerging Asia trade activity is down 8%. Growth for the year-to-date was 5.4%.
In addition to generally weak trade growth, the region is the most exposed to China market where government policies are more focused on stimulating domestic markets. No India specific data was available for the cargo growth rates
ref:dnaindia
