The growth in scheduled flights worldwide continued again in February, with airlines providing five per cent more departures than the previous year, according to the latest statistics from OAG.

In line with the general worldwide trend for larger aircraft, this translates to a slightly larger capacity increase (of six per cent) as the average available seats in February 2012 nudges towards 127 per aircraft versus 125 in the same period last year.

This marks the ninth consecutive month of growth compared to the same period last year, according to OAG, a UBM Aviation brand.

The OAG FACTS (Frequency and Capacity Trend Statistics) report for February 2012 reveals that market demand continues to increase the greatest in Central and South America and across the Middle East, all three regions recording double-digit growth, surpassed only by the total volume growth in Asia Pacific of 8.9 million seats in February compared to twelve months ago.

To put this volume growth in perspective, Asia Pacific and South America represent 64 per cent of the total worldwide volume growth.

Five of the top ten airports by growth in February (year on year) are now in Asia / Pacific with Bangkok, Beijing, Jakarta, Singapore and Manila representing almost 3.5 million additional seats in the month.

The battle for number one Airport continues to heat up as Beijing further closes the gap on Atlanta this month which now stands at a mere 251,000 seats per month - compared to some 826,000 twelve months ago.

“The exponential growth in Asia Pacific is representative of the increased mobility of businesses and people alike within the region and reflects their increasing economic confidence,” said Phil Callow, chief executive UBM Aviation.

“As Beijing continues its surge towards claiming the number one spot from Atlanta, the Asia Pacific aviation communities must address their infrastructure plans to ensure that the increasing demand continues to be met.”

A more detailed review of the OAG FACTS statistics for February 2012, including information, commentary and charts about specific airports, routes, countries and regions worldwide is available to download here.