The further retreat in oil prices at the start of the year could prolong a period of global air travel growth above historic averages, Brian Pearce, chief economist at IATA, said Friday. Air travel is growing 6% to 7%, already above the historic norm, with the potential that low oil prices could provide a boost into 2017, Pearce said. Lower fuel costs often lead to lower ticket prices, spurring demand to fly. Many European and Asian carriers have used financial instruments to lock in fuel costs early, so they won’t see the full benefit of lower oil prices for months or longer. That means the benefit from today’s low oil prices should flow through into next year, Pearce said. Oil prices slumped below US$30 a barrel at the start of the year, even though crude has rebounded in recent days. <br/>
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Airline pilots have called for a clampdown on drones, warning of potential disaster after 4 separate near-miss incidents at UK airports were reported in a single month, including one in a passenger jet taking off from London Stansted. The pilots have called for urgent action after the 4 “category A” incidents in which a serious risk of a collision occurred. Pilots believe that a collision with an airliner could be catastrophic, and that the impact of a drone strike on a light plane or helicopter would almost certainly bring those aircraft down. Balpa warned that the number of incidents could soar as people fly drones received as Christmas presents, often with little or no handling experience or understanding of the rules. Nearly 300,000 civilian drones were registered in US in 30 days. <br/>
Thailand's 6 main airports saw robust growth in passenger traffic of 21.3% in 2015, setting a new record of just under 110m. Such impressive growth largely reflected the marked upturn in Thailand's tourism industry. Aircraft movements surged in tandem by 16.6% from the previous year to 727,750, according to figures from AoT. The growth momentum is expected to continue through 2016 with AoT conservatively projecting an 11% increase in combined passenger throughput. Such growth is partly made possible with the expansion at Bangkok's Don Mueang in Bangkok and Phuket airports. Don Mueang's renovated terminal 2 is due to start full operation next month, ramping up its official passenger handling capacity to 30m a year from 18.5m. Also next month, the long-delayed expansion of Phuket airport should be completed. <br/>