Global air travel grew by six per cent in March from a year earlier, led by emerging markets, the International Air Transport Association said last Wednesday.

During the same month, capacity grew by just 3.5 per cent, meaning that there were generally fewer empty seats.

“Strong demand for air travel is consistent with improving business conditions. Performance, however, has been uneven. Mature markets are seeing relatively little growth while emerging markets continue to show a robust expansion,” said IATA Chief Executive Tony Tyler.

Growth in passenger traffic was strongest in the Middle East where demand increased by 15.6 per cent versus a capacity increase of 14.2 per cent.

In 2013, the Easter holidays occurred in March as opposed to April last year, stoking demand for flights, IATA said.

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