GENEVA — Global airline passenger traffic results for January 2015 show traffic growth of 4.6% compared to January 2014, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

This represents a slower start to the year compared to 2014 full-year growth of 5.9%. However, results likely were affected by the timing of the Lunar New Year in Asia, which occurred one month later this year compared to 2014. January capacity rose 5.2% and load factor slipped 0.5 percentage points to 77.7%.

While domestic markets drove growth in the latter part of 2014, international traffic was stronger in January.

“January traffic did not maintain the rate of growth attained in 2014; nevertheless, we are seeing healthy albeit slightly slower growth in the demand for air services. While January was a relatively positive start for the year, we cannot look ahead without seeing some significant risk factors in the macro-economic and political environment,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO.