Mideast airlines report 15% rise in passengers

Dubai: Airlines in the Middle East reported a 15.4 per cent increase in March passenger numbers, helped by the expanding economies in the region, but the growth was slower compared with the corresponding period in 2007.

According to monthly figures released by an industry group, the global airline industry is continuing to witness a slowdown in passenger growth since December due to the impact of the US credit crunch.

Passenger growth was 5.8 per cent in March, but adjusted for the Easter holiday period, which fell in April last year, the real growth was just four per cent, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said.

Even for the Middle East the rate of growth for March was five per cent lower than the 20.4 per cent recorded in the same month last year.

IATA sees international freight growth of 3.2 per cent as sluggish compared with the 4.3 per cent growth recorded in 2007.