Global flight demand up in July

Passenger demand for flights increased by 5.9 per cent during July compared with the same month last year, according to new figures.

Statistics from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have shown that business travel drove this growth during the month, with this category outperforming economy class traffic on long-haul flights.

The Middle East continued to lead air traffic growth compared with the rest of the world's regions, helping to boost overall traffic. The Asia Pacific and Europe also recorded significant increases, the IATA said.

"More people are travelling than ever before, with airlines registering a monthly record of over 220 billion revenue passenger kilometres in July with record load factors," commented Giovanni Bisignani, director-general and chief executive of the IATA.

Just over 15 million British travellers passed through UK airports operated by BAA in July, according to figures released by the organisation last month.

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