By 2038, 44% of additional air passenger trips to be from China & India alone: IATA

According to a report by IATA, the ‘Current trends’ scenario predicts that 44% of additional air passenger trips over the next 20 years will come from China and India alone. The report also elucidates that air travel markets are reaching maturity in most developed economies. The rise in the frequency of air travel of the average citizen – which underlies the expected growth in air passenger demand over the next 20 years – will occur mainly in the world’s emerging markets. So, the average citizen in Europe and the US is not expected to fly much more frequently in 20 years’ time than they do today, even though their living standards are forecast to be 20-30% higher in our ‘Current trends’ scenario. Moreover, in developed economies like Germany there is very little population growth – another key driver of air passenger demand – expected either. But in the emerging markets there is expected to be a strong demand to connect cities by air services for trade, investment and travel. This is where both the frequency of travel and populations are expected to rise most.