India tops world in domestic traveling

MONTREAL, CANADA: India posted the highest domestic passenger growth globally at 18.8 percent, even surpassing China which has more than 1.35 billion people.



The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said India, which has a population of over 1.2 billion people, outranked China, Russia, the United States, among other countries.


“With annual growth of 18.8% (in a market of 80 million domestic passengers), India’s performance surpassed that of Russia (11.9% growth, in a market of 47 million domestic passengers), China (9.7% growth, in a market of 394 million domestic passengers) and the United States (5.4% growth, in a market of 708 million domestic passengers),” IATA announced during the recently released 60th Edition of the World Air Transport Statistics (WATS), the yearbook of the airline industry’s performance.


“Last year, airlines safely carried 3.6 billion passengers—the equivalent of 48% of the earth’s population—and transported 52.2 million tonnes of cargo worth around $6 trillion. In doing so, we supported some $2.7 trillion in economic activity and 63 million jobs,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO.


In terms of cargo, markets globally showed a 2.3 percent expansion in freight and mail tonne kilometers (FTKs).


Latest data point to continued growth in air freight demand in the Middle East even as others saw a downtrend.


For May 2016, the Middle East posted a 3.2 percent growth in air cargo volumes, with food imports and export of consumer goods largely accounting for it.


BOX OUT


Top 5 airlines ranked by total freight tonnes carried on scheduled services


1. FedEx Express (7.1 million)

2. United Parcel Service (4.5 million)

3. Emirates (2.5 million)

4. Cathay Pacific Airways (1.6 million)

5. Korean Air (1.5 million)