Geneva - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said that International demand for air travel rose 9.2% compared to September 2023. Capacity was up 9.1% year-on-year and the load factor rose to 83.8% (+0.1ppt compared to September 2023).
Domestic demand rose 3.7% compared to September 2023. Capacity was up 0.7% year-on-year and the load factor was 83.3% (+2.4)compared to September 2023).
“The year’s peak travel season ended with demand at an all-time high. This is good news not just for passengers but also for the global economy. Every flight creates more jobs and trade. But the air travel success story is bringing challenges. We will soon face a capacity crunch in some regions which threatens to curtail these economic and social benefits. Governments will face a choice: lose out to more dynamic nations who value global connectivity, or forge a consensus for sustainable growth. Airlines are making significant investments to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. That needs to be accompanied by an equally active political vision, backed up by actions, to ensure we have efficient and sufficient airport and air traffic management capacity to meet the needs of citizens and businesses to travel,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
Middle Eastern carriers saw a 4.4 percent year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 4.6 percent year-on-year and the load factor was 81.4% (-0.1 compared to September 2023).
Muscat International Airport witnessed an increase of 4.7 percent in the number of international and domestic passengers in the first nine months of this year.
A total of 9,764, 530 passengers traveled through the Muscat airport from 73,137 flights (an increase of 3.4 percent).
These included 16,826 transit passengers.
A total of 1, 230, 326 passengers travelled through the Salalah airport from 8,374 flights (an increase of 6.8 percent).
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