GENEVA, Oct 2: World airline traffic expanded by 6.8 per cent in August, enabling the industry to match an all-time record of 83.4 per cent of seats filled, the International Air Transport Association said on Wednesday.

“August was a positive month for passenger travel,” IATA chief Tony Tyler said in a statement, pointing out that the overall passenger load factor, or percentage of seats filled, matched a record set in July 2011.

Passenger demand that month was up 6.8 per cent year-on-year, with strong growth across all markets, but especially in the Middle East, Latin America and Asia.

Traffic on international routes was up 7.5 per cent in August while demand for domestic travel was up 5.6 per cent.

Middle Eastern carriers experienced the strongest year-on-year international traffic growth of 15.1 per cent.—AFP