Global revenue passenger kilometre* s (RPKs) for October were up 6.6 per cent year-on-year, showing continued growth.

Overall, RPKs, a measurement of air traffic, rose by 6.9 per cent for international flights and six per cent in domestic services.

RPK improvement is more than the annual upturn of 5.2 per cent in September, according to figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

IATA's director general and chief executive officer Tony Tyler said: "October traffic results reinforce expectations for a strong fourth quarter traffic performance in line with rising business confidence and better economic performance in the major advanced economies."

International traffic in Europe was behind the global average, rising 5.4 per cent in October, compared to last year. Capacity increased 4.6 per cent, bringing load factors and the number of seats filled up to 81 per cent.

The strongest region was the Middle East, with passenger numbers improving by 14 per cent, with a similar 13.9 per cent surge in capacity. Its load factors, however, were at 75.5 per cent, around the same as October last year.