IATA Lowers Long-Term Passenger Forecast

Global air travel demand is expected to soften as a result of negative developments in the world economy.

IATA is now forecasting demand to reach seven billion by 2034, instead of stronger figure of 7.4 billion it forecasted earlier.

The updated count is based on a 3.8 percent average annual growth rate using 2014 baseline numbers (3.3 billion), a lowered outlook from the 4.1 percent previously projected.

This dampened forecast reflects negative developments in the world economy, especially slower growth predictions in China, expected to reduce appetite for air travel globally.

"Economic and political events over the last year have impacted some of the fundamentals for growth. As a result, we expect some 400 million fewer people to be traveling in 2034 than we did at this time last year," said Tony Tyler, director general and CEO of IATA.

"It is important that we don't create additional headwinds with excessive taxation, onerous regulation or infrastructure deficiencies," he added.

Still, China is likely to remain the fastest growing market from now till 2034, with 758 million new passengers expected to be added. The next four biggest growth markets for the same period are the U.S. (523 million), India (275 million), Indonesia (132 million) and Brazil (104 million).

According to these projections, China will overtake the U.S. as the world's largest passenger market by 2029.