Number of miles flown increased in 2016, numbers show

A Croatia Airlines Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 taxis at Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy, on May 8, 2016. (Photo by Todd DeFeo/The DeFeo Groupe)

The number of miles passengers flew worldwide increased 6.3 percent last year over 2015, new numbers from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reveal.

This performance was well ahead of the ten-year average annual growth rate of 5.5 percent, IATA said in a news release. In addition, capacity rose 6.2 percent (unadjusted) compared to 2015.

“Air travel was a good news story in 2016,” Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO, said in a news release. “Connectivity increased with the establishment of more than 700 new routes. And a $44 fall in average return fares helped to make air travel even more accessible. As a result, a record 3.7 billion passengers flew safely to their destination.

“Demand for air travel is still expanding,” de Juniac added. “The challenge for governments is to work with the industry to meet that demand with infrastructure that can accommodate the growth, regulation that facilitates growth and taxes that don’t choke growth. If we can achieve that, there is plenty of potential for a safe, secure and sustainable aviation industry to create more jobs and increase prosperity.”

Palazzo Vecchio
About Sightseers’ Delight 495 Articles
Sightseers’ Delight started publishing in June 2016. The site, published by The DeFeo Groupe, collects and curates content about places where historical events large and small happened. The site builds off the legacy of The Travel Trolley, which launched in June 2009. The site aimed to be a virtual version of the trolley tours offered in so many cities.