Air passenger numbers set to double by 2030

Air passenger numbers will double over the next 15 years – and the rapid rate of travel will have serious consequences for the aviation industry.

Air travel set to double with an estimated 60 million flights within 15 years Image by fsse8info / CC BY-SA 2.0

A conference in Dublin was told that by 2030, the number of flights would jump to 60 million a year at a time when an entire generation of staff would have to be replaced. Raymond Benjamin, general secretary of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), said a critical skills and training gap was looming because of the spike in travel. The Irish Independent reported Mr Benjamin as saying: “This is not a simple task.”

He said at the Global Aviation Training (GAT) Symposium that the challenge looming ahead was to replace one generation of technical professionals with another while also trying to cope with the expansion in travel numbers. Mr Benjamin said the aim of the industry would be to maintain and improve standards over the next decade and a half.