Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region continued to post growth in both passenger and cargo markets for the month of April, signalling the industry's return to profitability, an industry group said Friday, according to dpa. The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) said a total of 15.2 million international passengers were transported by Asia Pacific-based airlines in April, up 11.7 per cent from the same month last year. Air cargo demand, which was worst hit by the global economic recession, maintained the positive trend of recent months with a 32.1-per-cent year-on-year growth, the association said in a statement. The recovery in the aviation industry, hard hit by the global recession, came despite disruptions in air travel caused by the volcanic eruption in Iceland. "Overall, traffic demand is now back to the levels seen before the recession," AAPA director general Andrew Herdman said. Herdman said the robust growth further confirmed that a global economic recovery was currently underway, with Asia leading the pack. "The outlook for the coming months remains broadly positive, supported by Asia's buoyant economic growth, although concerns remain over regional imbalances, as well as oil and currency volatility." AAPA's 17 member airlines posted losses of 2 billion dollars last year, a marked improvement from the 8.8-billion-dollar losses recorded in 2008.
