Air passenger traffic seen growing at around 6 per cent till 2008

Mumbai: UN aviation agency, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), has projected continued strong growth in air passenger traffic over the next three years. With the world economy in good shape, airline traffic is projected to rise by 6.1 per cent in 2006, 5.8 per cent in 2007 and 5.6 per cent in 2008, according to a ICAO report.

The report has projected the highest average annual growth rate of 10.7 per cent for the Middle East (12 per cent for 2006, 10.5 per cent for 2007 and 9.5 per cent for 2008). The Asia-Pacific region, the report said, is expected to see traffic growth rates well above the world average.

The European as well as African airlines are also projected to grow at rates higher than the world average while North America as well as Latin America and the Caribbean airlines would grow somewhat below the world averages.

Meanwhile, a UN tourism agency report said international tourist arrivals worldwide for the first four months of 2006 rose 10 million over that in the same period last year to a total 236 million, showing a 4.5 per cent growth.