Asians Expected To Travel More, Says IATA

SINGAPORE, Feb 13 (Bernama) -- The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says in terms of propensity to travel, Asia has tremendous potential for future growth. Its director-general and chief executive officer, Tony Tyler said the average person in the US travels by air 1.8 times per year, while in Germany the equivalent is one trip annually. He said for China the average is 0.2 air trips per person per year and for India it is just 0.1. "Within the next decade China is expected to reach the US$15,000 per capita income level at which point annual air travel becomes possible. Achieving that in China will generate an extra billion annual travelers," said Tyler in his address at the Singapore Airshow Aviation Leadership Summit here Monday. The IATA’s passenger forecast has projected that by 2015, Asia-Pacific will represent 37 per cent of traffic, while traffic associated with Europe and North America will fall to 29 per cent. Total passengers worldwide are expected to rise to 3.55 billion during the same period, with routes associated with China to see a significant rise in the passenger traffic as well. In terms of security challenges, Tyler urged broad cooperation among industry and governments to realise the "Checkpoint of the Future", a proposed concept for airport security. "Security is a top priority that must not be compromised. But everybody hopes for an early evolution from an airport checkpoint experience defined by queuing, unpacking, removing clothing, separating certain items and possibly invasive searches. "One of my priorities is to build global consensus that will see the Checkpoint of the Future improve the quality and convenience of airport security," said Tyler. Along with support from Interpol, the European Commission, the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Chinese government, 16 states have endorsed the Checkpoint of the Future concept. -- BERNAMA