Global passenger traffic demand rose in April, at its fastest rate for six years, according to IATA.
Traffic was up by 10.7% compared to April 2016: this was attributed to a mixture of global economic activity and a decline in airfare costs. In fact, allowing for inflation, the cost of air travel was actually 10% lower in the first quarter of 2017 on a like-for-like basis.
This silver lining edges a grey cloud, however, as the UK and US ban on large electronic carry-on items has started to impact the sector. From the data collected, IATA believes that certain routes (primarily those that uphold the bans) are being less used than before. There is also a real concern that the ban could be extended to include Europe/US flights: if that happens, it is thought that anything up to 15% of business travellers would look anew at their travel plans.
