India drives global demand for air travel

NEW DELHI: Boosted by robust economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region, the global demand for air travel has risen considerably in the recent past, reaching an all-time high during this normally lean season. Air traffic growth at 8.6 per cent this August was much higher than it was last year when security scare was witnessed in North America, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in its latest revised projection of passenger and freight demand released yesterday. Maintaining that this was the "fastest growth rate for 16 months", the IATA report said the growth reflected "an underlying improvement in travel into the third quarter of 2007, as airlines in Asia-Pacific in particular benefit from traffic generated by robust economic growth in the region."