Weather slows September air passenger growth: IATA

Global passenger traffic in September slowed, but demand rose 5.7 percent compared to the same month in 2016, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Thursday.

This was the slowest year-on-year increase since February, with the Asia-Pacific airlines, supported by China, showing the strongest regional growth.

"September's growth in passenger demand was healthy, notwithstanding the heavy impacts of extreme weather events on the Americas," said IATA's chief executive officer (CEO) Alexandre de Juniac.

Hurricanes Maria which hit the Caribbean and Irma, which hit both the Caribbean and United States, weighed heavily on the results, although growth had already been tapering.

Japan's domestic traffic also took a weather-related hit as Typhoon Talim caused a significant slowing of traffic growth from the 8.8 percent recorded in August to 3.6 percent in September.

"Global economic conditions support rising passenger demand, but with higher cost inputs, the demand stimulation from lower fares has waned, suggesting a moderating trend in traffic growth," said De Juniac.

Robust growth in China boosted Asia-Pacific airlines traffic growth of 8.7 percent in September compared to the period one year earlier, the strongest growth among regions.