Middle East airlines see 90% slump in September passenger demand

Middle East airlines see 90% slump in September passenger demand

Airlines operating in the Middle East posted a 90 percent slump in passenger demand in September as the coronavirus pandemic continued to bite the global aviation industry.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the September figure was actually a slight improvement on the previous month when demand fell by 92.3 percent.

September also saw airline capacity tumble by 78.5 percent in the Middle East while load factor sank by more than 40 percent compared to the same month last year to 34.4 percent.

Globally, IATA said that passenger demand in September remained highly depressed.

Total demand was 72.8 percent below September 2019 levels while capacity was down 63 percent compared to a year ago and load factor fell 21.8 percent to 60.1 percent.

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