News
IATA lowers passenger forecast
December 4th 2015
Global air travel demand is expected to soften as a result of adverse developments in the world economy, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The association has predicted passenger numbers will reach seven billion a year by 2034, reversing earlier forecasts of 7.4 billion. Read More » The updated count is based on a reduction in annual growth from 4.1% to 3.8%. IATA said the revised forecast reflected negative developments in the world economy, particularly slower growth in China, as well as increased security concerns following recent terror attacks across the globe.
"Economic and political events over the last year have impacted some of the fundamentals for growth. As a result, we expect some 400 million fewer people to be traveling in 2034 than we did at this time last year," said IATA director general, Tony Tyler. "It is important that we don't create additional headwinds with excessive taxation, onerous regulation or infrastructure deficiencies," he added.
Still, China is likely to remain the fastest growing market from now until 2034, with 758 million new passengers expected to be added. The next four biggest growth markets for the same period are the U.S. (523 million), India (275 million), Indonesia (132 million) and Brazil (104 million). According to these projections, China will overtake the U.S. as the world's largest passenger market by 2029.
China until now seems unperturbed by the news, and last week pledged subsidies totalling 1.31 billion yuan ($200 million) in 2016 from the government’s Civil Aviation Development Fund to boost operations and increase traffic at 152 regional airports. Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport will receive the largest grant, at 18.2 million yuan, followed by Kashgar Airport with 17.3 million yuan and Aksu Airport at 16 million yuan.
