The African airfreight market is still the poorest performer in air cargo growth. According to the International Air Transport Association (Iata), all regions except Africa saw 20%-plus growth in freight volumes in the first quarter. However, these average inbound/outbound figures disguise a lot of difference in directional markets, it added. Iata analysts pointed out that Asia-Pacific remains the fastest growing region, driven by rapid regional economic growth. But the 30%+ growth of air freight in Europe contrasts with the 11.7% growth in freight tonne kilometres (FTKs) carried by European airlines. This suggests to the association that most of the market growth is in the Asia to Europe direction, and carried by Asia-Pacific airlines. Globally, the first quarter international airfreight growth was 32.4%. By regions the increase was 12.4% in Africa; 36.3% in Asia/Pacific; 30.6% in Europe; 28.5% in Latin America; 21.7% in the Middle East; and 35.4% in North America.
