Global Airline Passenger Traffic Up In 2015

Global airline passenger traffic grew 6.8 percent in 2015, with the Middle East region growing the fastest, preliminary data released by ICAO showed.

US carriers were ranked the top three in the world by revenue passenger km, with American Airlines taking the top position.

Atlanta Airport was the world's busiest airport by number of passengers, followed by Beijing Capital Airport and Dubai Airport, ICAO said.

The global load factor hit a 10-year high of 80.2 percent in 2015, with North America recorded the highest load factor globally, at 83.5 percent.

Global freight traffic grew more slowly last year, despite strong gains in passenger volume, reflecting stagnating world trade development, ICAO said. Global freight traffic grew 2.2 percent last year, compared with 4.9 percent in 2014.