Record load factor shown in July global air passenger traffic: IATA

There was healthy global passenger demand for July with all regions reporting solid growth, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Thursday.

Total revenue passenger kilometers rose 6.2 percent, compared to the same month last year.

While this was down from 8.1 percent year-over-year growth in June, it marked a solid start to the peak passenger demand season., said IATA.

Monthly capacity increased by 5.5 percent and load factor rose 0.6 percentage point to a record high for July of 85.2 percent, said IATA.

The record load factor shows that airlines are becoming even more efficient in terms of deploying capacity to meet demand.

"However, rising costs -- particularly fuel -- will likely limit the stimulus we would expect from lower airfares. Therefore, we do expect to see a continued slowing of growth compared to 2017," said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA's Director General and CEO.

Asia-Pacific airlines' July traffic rose 7.5 percent over preceding year, a slowdown compared to June growth of 9.6 percent. Capacity increased 6.0 percent and load factor rose 1.1 percentage points to 82.1 percent.

Growth is supported by a combination of robust regional economic growth and an increase in route options for travelers, said IATA.

European carriers posted a 4.4 percent rise in traffic for July compared to a year ago, down from 7.1 percent annual growth in June.

Passenger volumes have been tracking sideways for the past three months, with possible traffic impacts related to air traffic control strikes across the region.

Middle East carriers had a 4.8 percent increase in demand for July, well down on the 11.2 percent growth recorded for June.

North American airlines' traffic climbed 4.1 percent compared to July a year ago.

This was down from 6.0 percent growth in June, but still ahead of the 5-year average pace for regional carriers as strong momentum in the U.S. economy is helping underpin a pick-up in international demand for airlines there.

Latin American airlines showed a 3.8 percent rise in traffic in July, the slowest growth among the regions and a decline from 5.6 percent year-over-year growth in June.

African airlines' July traffic rose 6.8 percent, the second highest among the regions.