However, Europe continues to perform weakly compared to other regions, with demand rising only 1.4 percent, reflecting economic uncertainty and the impact of sanctions as a result of the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

"We are now back to levels of demand not seen since the 2010 post-recession bounce-back. But the industry is still in the hot seat and under pressure to improve its value offering," IATA Director General Tony Tyler said in a statement.

(Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Arno Schuetze)