The global aviation industry will forever look back on 2010 as a year marred by severe weather, natural disasters and economical uncertainty. However, judging by a report by ICAO (the UN International Civil Aviation Organisation), both the past and future isn’t as gloomy as it seems.

A large boom in air traffic across most of the main continents was seen over the course of the year. The Middle East saw the biggest growth at around 21%, which the African, Asian Pacific and Latin American markets enjoyed a growth of between 10% and 13%.

The biggest fear globally in the industry was the severe weather which bookended the year across Europe, as well as the large-scale airspace blackout caused by the Icelandic volcano in April. However, contrary to the early preliminary figures it seems the transatlantic business still performed well – North America grew by 6.2%, while Europe saw a solid 6.7% rise in traffic.

Worldwide, the UN report indicated that the number of passengers taking to the air last year totaled approximately 2.5bn, 6.3% more than in 2009. Freight transportation in particular saw some impressive figures with nearly 19% increase in freight-tonne kilometer performance after a steep drop of 11% in 2009.

The figures bode well for the year ahead, as the U.N. predicts a 4.7% rise in passenger air traffic and a further 0.2% increase on that figure in 2012. The Olympics will be held in London on this year, which is hoped to bring extra overseas visitors to England from around the world. Additionally, the report claims that the expansion of cheap airlines and increased connections across the EU has bolstered demand for air travel.

Reported by Zeke Lyons.

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