International air passenger traffic grew by 5.9 percent in 2006, lower than the 7.6 percent increase in the same period of last year, according to reports released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on January 29, 2007.

The report found that the increase in air passenger traffic across the globe in 2006 was slower than in 2005, except in the Middle East region. In 2005, air passenger traffic in Latin America grew by 11.4 percent, falling to 9 percent in 2006. The growth rate in North America also fell to 5.7 percent in 2006 from 8.9 percent in 2005.

However, international air cargo freight traffic increased to 4.6 percent in 2006, up from 3.2 percent in 2005. The Middle East region contributed substantially to this growth, with traffic increasing 16.1 per cent.

Giovanni Bisignan, the CEO of IATA, predicted the growth rate of air transportation across the world would decrease to 4.5 percent in 2007, lower than the 8 percent of 2006, reflecting the slowdown of global economic growth. Despite this, with airlines continuing to reduce management costs and the falling oil prices, the global air transport business will still turn a profit of as much as US$2.5 billion.