Global demand for air travel up 7.2 percent in October after September weather disruptions

Global demand for air travel climbed 7.2 percent in October, rebounding after September was disrupted by hurricanes, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Monday.

“As expected, the recent severe weather in the Americas region had only a temporary impact on the healthy travel demand we have seen this year,” Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s CEO said.

It said airline capacity rose 6.2 percent and load factor – a measure of how full planes are – increased by 0.8 percentage points to 80.8 percent.

IATA said it expected passenger traffic demand to continue its upwards trend in 2018. It will on Tuesday present its updated economic forecasts for the industry at a media event in Geneva.