According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) global air connectivity continues to become more accessible and more efficient. Performance figures for 2018 released in IATA’s World Air Transport Statistics confirm that last year 4.4 billion passengers flew on scheduled services, an increase of 6.9% over 2017, representing an additional 284 million trips by air. Record efficiency was also achieved with 81.9% of available seats being filled.
The report also found that fuel efficiency improved by more than 12% compared to 2010 and that 22,000 city pairs are now connected by direct flights, up 1,300 over 2017 and double the 10,250 city pairs connected in 1998.
Airlines in the Asia Pacific region were once again found to carry the largest number of passengers systemwide. The top five domestic passenger airport-pairs (all within Asia Pacific) were: Jeju –Seoul Gimpo; Fukuoka –Tokyo Haneda; Melbourne – Tullamarine; Sapporo –Tokyo-Haneda; and Beijing Capital – Shanghai Hongqiao.
Meanwhile the top five nationalities travelling (on international routes) were: United Kingdom; United States; People Republic of China; Germany; and France.
“The freedom to fly is more accessible than ever,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO. “Our world is a more prosperous place as a result. As with any human activity this comes with an environmental cost that airlines are committed to reducing. We understand that sustainability is essential to our license to spread aviation’s benefits.”
He added that in order to achieve the industry’s ambitious carbon goals of capping net emission growth from 2020 onwards and cutting net carbon footprint to half 2005 levels by 2050 government support is required. “It is critical for sustainable aviation fuels, new technology and more efficient routes to deliver the greener future we are aiming for.”
