IATA: Air traffic decline continues

IATA: Air traffic decline continues

The International Air Transport Association said air cargo volumes were down 7.9 percent during October, dragging year-to-date air freight volume to 0.8 percent below the same period in 2007.

   Forecasted declines in key air cargo sectors such as semi-conductors indicate that weakness is expected to continue.

   IATA gave these details:

   ' Asia-Pacific carriers, which account for 44.7 percent of the international cargo market, saw international freight traffic decline 11 percent reflecting the sharp drop in the region’s exports.

   ' North American and European carriers saw less precipitous declines of 7.6 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively.

   ' African carriers saw a 3 percent improvement in cargo during October, reflecting trade growth within Africa.

   ' Latin American carriers saw an 11.4 percent largest decline.

   ' Middle Eastern carriers saw 1 percent growth in October.

   The group said international passenger air traffic for October showing a second consecutive month of global decline. International passenger traffic declined 1.3 percent compared to the same month in the previous year — a smaller decline than the 2.9 percent drop experienced in September. The October load factor was 75 percent, about 2 percentage points below previous year levels.