SA World Cup boosts African airliners' fortunes - IATA

Kisumu- Kenya (PANA) -- African carriers posted a 21.
3 per cent rise in traffic i n June, mainly as a result of the FIFA World Cup hosted by South Africa for the f irst time on the African soil, an international aviation body said Wednesday.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced international sched uled traffic statistics for June which showed continued strong demand growth as t he industry recovers from the impact of the global financial crisis.
Compared to June 2009, international passenger demand was up 11.
9 per cent, whil e international scheduled freight traffic showed a 26.
5 per cent improvement.
Capacity increased only slightly above demand improvements during the month, kee ping load factors in line with historical highs at 79.
8 per cent for passenger t r affic and 53.
8 per cent for freight.
"The industry continues to recover faster than expected, but with sharp regional differences.
Europe is recovering at half the speed of Asia, with passenger gro w th of 7.
8 per cent, compared to the 15.
5 per cent growth in Asia-Pacific," said G iovanni Bisignani, IATA's Director General.
Outside of Europe, all regions reported double-digit growth in passenger traffic .
"The question is how long can the industry maintain the double-digit momentum.
B usiness confidence remains high and there is no indication that the recovery wil l stall any time soon.
But, with government stimulus packages tailing off and res t ocking largely completed, we do expect some slowing over the months ahead," said Bisignani.
After a dip in April due to the volcanic ash crisis centered in Europe, internat ional passenger demand has returned to its upward growth trend.
Passenger volumes are now 1-2 per cent above the pre-recession peak in the first quarter of 2008.