Airlines in Asia-Pacific enjoyed ‘robust’ growth during the Lunar New Year period but a sector group warns of challenges as a result of fallout from the attack by the US and Israel on Iran.
The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) figures for Feb show the region’s carriers enjoyed a 9% year-on-year increase in international passengers carried, reaching an aggregate total of 33.0 million.
Demand, as measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), was up 8.8%, while available seat capacity expanded by 8.0% year on-year, with average international passenger load factor to 83.4% for the month.
AAPA director general Subhas Menon says combined figures for the first two months of the year showed a firm 6.3% increase in the number of international passengers carried by the region’s airlines to 69 million, supported by strong travel demand across Asian economies.
“However, the escalation in geopolitical tensions in the Middle East region at the end of Feb has introduced greater uncertainty to the operating environment. Asian airlines are facing increased operational challenges, as the rise in conflicts has reduced the availability of airspace, particularly along key Asia–Europe corridors, effectively constraining capacity on these routes.”
The broadly positive outlook for the airline industry will continue to be clouded by the evolving geopolitical situation, he says.
