IATA figures for November have revealed further evidence of the impact of the economic slowdown on the freight market, after international cargo traffic fell by 13.5%.
International passenger traffic dropped by 4.6% while capacity was reduced by only 1%, leading to a three-point fall in load factor to 72.7%.
IATA director general Giovanni Bisignani describes the decline in cargo traffic as "shocking" given that air cargo handles a third of the value of internationally-traded goods.
"The industry is now shrinking by all measures," he says. "We can expect deep losses in the fourth quarter."
IATA states that Asia-Pacific airlines are facing the "most difficult" operating environment, and are carrying out the highest capacity cuts.
Freight traffic in the region sank by nearly 17% in November while passenger traffic was down by 9.7%.
North American, European and Latin American airlines also experienced cargo traffic declines of more than 10%.
"Plummeting business confidence and the continuing turmoil in financial markets indicates that the worsening trend will be continued in December," says IATA.
"Relief in the oil price has been outstripped by the falls in demand and capacity cuts are not keeping pace."
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
