(Reuters) - Global demand for air travel rose 5.3 percent in March – the slowest rate of growth since June 2015, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Thursday.
"It is premature to say whether this marks the end of the recent very strong results. We do expect further stimulus in the form of network expansion and declines in travel costs. However, the wider economic backdrop remains subdued", said IATA’s Director General Tony Tyler.
Total capacity, measured by the number of seats available and kilometers flown, rose 5.9 percent, while the load factor, the measure of how full planes are, dropped 0.5 percentage points to 79.6 percent of capacity, IATA said in its monthly traffic update.