Airlines Earn $1.6 Billion

Airlines carried a record number of passengers last year, boosting worldwide profits to $1.6 billion, the International Air Transport Assn. said in a report released today.

The annual report from IATA, which is holding its general assembly in the Polish capital this week, predicted another bumper year in 1989, but warned that air congestion would limit future expansion, especially in Europe.

In a bid to improve security and safety measures, IATA said it plans to step up checks on airport security and review the problem of human error in air crashes.

Air congestion and security are expected to be the main themes at IATA’s annual meeting.

The report said IATA’s 187 member airlines carried 632 million passengers last year, a 2% rise over the record set in 1987. Of these, 190 million flew on international scheduled flights, over 6% more than in 1987.

Another 22 million people flew on domestic and international charter flights.

The report predicted that international scheduled passenger traffic would grow 8% in 1989 and 1990, but drop back to about 7% in the following three years.

The report said the most rapid expansion should be in Asia and the Pacific. Air traffic in Europe and North America is expected to grow at a rate of about 6% a year.

Insufficient airport capacity could limit growth in Europe, where congestion problems are most acute, it said.

“The lack of adequate airport and air space capacity to meet current and future demand continues to be the major problem facing the air transport industry today,” the report commented.

IATA has identified 35 airports in West Europe as “congested,” and has said that Sydney, Bombay, Hong Kong and the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Osaka also are suffering from lack of airport space.

It said recent airliner accidents have led to growing concern about the structural safety of older aircraft. But excess demand for new planes is forcing many airlines to modify rather than replace older aircraft. This would add to costs and impose yet another constraint on the industry’s growth, it added.