The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic results for January showing a strong increase in demand.

IT said January international passenger demand was up 7.8 percent compared to the year-ago period with airlines in all regions recording growth and the strongest gains in the Middle East.

Capacity rose 6.8 percent and load factor climbed 0.7 percentage points to 78.3 percent.

Middle East carriers’ demand soared 18.1 percent in January, far and away the strongest growth for any region.

Capacity climbed 15 percent versus the same month in 2013 and load factor climbed 2.2 percentage points to 81.1 percent, also the highest for any region.

The Middle East carriers are benefitting from the strength of regional economies and solid growth in business-related premium travel, supported by the performance of internationally trading industries and key economies such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Globally, IATA said that total revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) rose 8 percent compared to January 2013, an improvement over the December 2013 growth of 6.8 percent and the full year 2013 growth of 5.2 percent.

January capacity increased 6.7 percent, pushing load factor up 0.9 percentage points to 78.1 percent.

Tony Tyler, IATA’s director-general and CEO, said: “2014 is off to a strong start, with travel demand accelerating over the healthy results achieved in 2013, in line with stronger growth in advanced economies and emerging market regions.”

IATA represents some 240 airlines comprising 84 percent of global air traffic.

The association said Asia-Pacific carriers’ traffic rose 8.0 percent compared to the year-ago period; however, this result is partly distorted by the timing of the Lunar New Year in January, a month earlier than in 2013. Comparisons with December traffic suggest a continuation of the slower growth seen toward the end of 2013, likely in line with signs of a slowdown in the Chinese economy. Capacity climbed 7.5 percent year-over-year and load factor rose 0.4 percentage points to 78.2 percent.

European carriers saw demand climb 6.4 percent in January versus January 2013. Modest economic improvements in the Eurozone since Q2 and rising consumer and business confidence have been providing a stronger demand base for international air travel. Additionally, the services sector has been signaling expansion and Eurozone job losses have stabilized. Capacity rose 5.9 percent and load factor climbed 0.4 percentage points to 77.2 percent.

North American airlines experienced a 3.5 percent rise in traffic compared to January a year ago, in line with recent performance. Rising consumer spending and employment growth are expected to support continued demand growth in the coming months. Capacity rose 2.5 percent pushing load factor up 0.8 percentage points to 80.4 percent, third highest among regions.