Air travel on markets connected to the Middle East continues to show “mixed” results, IATA’s latest traffic monitor shows.
International air travel growth on Europe-Middle East was up 5.4% in October, it said.  
In contrast, Africa –Middle East and Middle East –Far East were relatively weaker, +0.8% and -1.2%, respectively.
This is likely due to adverse economic and political developments in Asia and Africa rather than any major downturn in the Middle East.
After a decline in the first half of 2015, third-quarter data from purchasing managers pointed to further gains in business conditions across the non-oil producing private sectors of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and this should help sustain solid expansion in air passenger demand for local carriers, it said.
The IATA report also showed passenger travel on international markets was up 4.5% in October year-on-year, overall.
For economy class travel, passenger numbers were up 4.6% but that was due to weakness in the year-ago period, rather than growth over the last month.
Premium  travel,  by  contrast, was  supported  by growth  in  volumes  in  October  compared  to  September,  rising 3.9% year-on-year.
“Since there can be notable volatility in the monthly passenger volumes, looking at a longer period can provide a better indication of the trend in air travel,” IATA said.
For  2015  so  far, the  trend  has  been  broadly positive  in  both  classes,  and,  in  fact,  growth  in  economy  class  travel  has  been  relatively  stronger.
Weakness in business confidence has dampened demand for business-related air travel, while economy class travel - the more price sensitive travel market - has been supported by lower fares over recent months.
At the route-level, during more recent months, growth has been supported by the ‘within Europe’ market, which includes segment traffic as part of longer-haul journeys.
Air travel across the North Atlantic has also started to accelerate, up 6.9% in October, year-on-year, which is a good sign for yields and revenues.
However, weakness in air travel on the Within Far East market has been placing downward pressure on the industry growth trend.
Slower than expected growth in China and weak trade activity have translated to declines in international air travel growth in the region.
“The outlook  for  international  passenger  growth  remains mixed because  the  growth  over recent  months  has  been narrowly based, and supported mostly by the ‘within Europe’ and North Atlantic markets.
“Weakness in other regions, like Asia, remains a concern and is likely to keep international passenger growth from accelerating beyond current trends,” IATA said.