MIAMI — Global passenger traffic results for April showed robust demand growth for the world’s airlines compared to April 2014, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Total revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) rose 5.9%. April capacity (available seat kilometres or ASKs) increased by 6.1%, and load factor slipped 0.1 percentage points to 79.4%.

Domestic demand grew by 7.2%, outpacing international demand which grew by 5.2% compared to April 2014.

“Demand for connectivity remains strong. That’s positive news. But the performance of the industry is multi-tiered. Middle East and Asia-Pacific based carriers led with growth well above the 5.9% average, while carriers in Europe and the Americas were below it. And African airlines reported a contraction compared to the previous year,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s DG and CEO.