Global air passenger traffic demand up 5.7% in Sept -IATA

[MONTREAL] Global demand for air travel rose 5.7 per cent in September from a year earlier, the slowest growth since February as hurricanes in the United States hit travel, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Thursday.

"Hurricanes Irma and Maria weighed heavily on the results, although growth already had been tapering," IATA said in a statement.

It said airline capacity rose 5.3 per cent and airlines' load factor, which measures how effectively a carrier fills seats, increased by 0.3 per centage points to 81.6 per cent.

REUTERS