Source: Air Transport Association.

World Air Travel and World Air Freight Carried, 1950-2007

Air transportation experienced a high rate of growth since the 1970s, with air freight growing faster than passengers, especially in the 1990s. The growth of air traffic has also been characterized by several fluctuations linked with recessions (1973-1975; 1980-1984; 1990-1991; Asian Crisis of 1997) or geopolitical instability (Gulf War of 1991; September 11 2001). In spite of these setbacks, the growth appears to be exponential and will level of when developing economies such as China and India will become more mature and would thus have compounded the demand effects on the air transport industry.