Airlines transported 3.8 billion passengers globally in 2016

Nigeria, S’Africa, Ethiopia others record 84 million traffic

International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced industry performance statistics for 2016 showing that system-wide, airlines carried 3.8 billion passengers on scheduled services last year.

The estimate is an increase of seven per cent over 2015, representing an additional 242 million air trips. This information is included in the 2017 edition of the IATA World Air Transport Statistics (WATS) – the yearbook of the airline industry’s performance.

The industry in Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya and others on the African continent transported a total of 84 million passengers. Africa accounts for two per cent of the global air travel traffic.

Highlights of the 2016 airline industry performance released by the global clearing house show, once again, that airlines in the Asia-Pacific region carried the largest number of passengers.

The regional ranking (based on total passengers carried on scheduled services by airlines registered in that region) shows that Asia-Pacific, with 35 per cent market share, record 1.3 billion being an increase of 11.3 per cent compared to 2015. Europe, with 26 per cent market share, record 992.4 million, which is 6.1 per cent increase over 2015.

North America that has 24 per cent market share, recorded 911.5 million traffic – a three per cent increase when compared with 2015 estimate. Latin America, with seven per cent market share, transported 275.1 million; up 1.8 per cent from 2015. Middle East, with five per cent market share, recorded 206.1 million traffic; an increase of 9.1 per cent over 2015.

The top five airlines ranked by total scheduled passengers carried (domestic and international) were: Southwest Airlines (151.8 million), American Airlines (144.2 million), Delta Air Lines (143.3 million), China Southern Airlines (114.5 million) and Ryanair (112 million).

The top five international/regional passenger airport-pairs were almost the same as they were in 2015, and all were within the Asia-Pacific region: Hong Kong-Taipei (5.2 million, up 2.1 per cent from 2015), Jakarta-Singapore (3.4 million, up 0.9 per cent from 2015), Bangkok Suvarnabhumi-Hong Kong (3 million, a decrease of 3.14 per cent from 2015), Kuala Lumpur–Singapore (2.8 million, up 3.3 per cent from 2015) and Hong Kong-Seoul (2.8 million, down 15 per cent from 2015).