Mideast airlines see 0.4% dip amid Iran, Gaza wars, as global demand up 2.6%

Middle Eastern airlines recorded the sharpest decline globally in air travel demand in June, with a 0.4% year-on-year contraction, according to new data that also marked sharp drops in European and American traffic due to the wars engulfing the region over the last 12 months.

What happened: Data from the Geneva-based International Air Transport Association released Thursday showed that last month, the global average in revenue passenger kilometers, a metric for flight demand, was up 2.6%…