The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic data for March 2018 showing that demand (in RPKs) rose 9.5%, compared to the same month a year ago, which the association described as the fastest pace in 12 months.

Capacity (in ASKs) grew 6.4%, while load factor climbed 2.3 percentage points to 82.4%, which set a record for the month, following on the record set in February. All regions except for the Middle East posted record load factors.

International passenger demand for the month rose 10.6% compared to March 2017, which was up from 7.4% year-over-year growth recorded in February. All regions showed strong increases. Total capacity climbed 6.6%, and load factor improved 2.9 percentage points to 81.5%.

Among the regional highlights:

• Asia-Pacific airlines' traffic soared 11.6% in March, compared to the year-ago period. Capacity increased 8.2%, and load factor rose 2.5 percentage points to 80.9%.

• Middle East carriers' traffic jumped 10.7% in March, much improved from the 4.1% year-over-year increase recorded in February, reflecting healthy growth in the market between the Middle East and Asia. Capacity increased 4.3%, and load factor jumped 4.4 percentage points to 76.7%.

• European carriers saw March traffic climb 9.8% over March 2017, up from 6.9% annual growth in February. March capacity rose 6.4% and load factor was up 2.6 percentage points to 84.6%, highest among regions.