Global demand for air travel rose 7.6 per cent in November, the strongest rate for nine months, with European traffic rebounding, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) said yesterday.

Global capacity measured in available seat kilometres rose slower than demand at 6.5 per cent, meaning load factors – a measure of how full planes are – increased 0.8 percentage points to a November record high of 78.9 per cent, Iata said in its monthly traffic update.

European carriers saw demand rise 8.3 per cent in November, suggesting that the region is recovering from disruption caused by attacks and political upheavals, Iata said.

Iata has forecast airlines’ profitability will fall in 2017 after peaking this year.

“The threat of terrorism, questions over the durability of the economic upswing, rising oil prices and increasing protectionist rhetoric are among the concerns, “IATA head Alexandre de Juniac said in a statement.