The African air freight sector recorded 12.6% growth in freight tonne kilometres (FTKs) for October despite ongoing political and global tensions which have hampered the global market over the past year. According to report issued by the International Air Transport Association (Iata) on Tuesday, the recent surge of Asian investment in Africa has been the main cause for growth.
“This trend is underpinned, in part, by large-scale foreign investment, in particular from Asia, which creates new business and trade opportunities,” the report explained.
“This is also reflected in the specific Africa-Asia route-level data where freight volumes were up 23% annually in September.”
Although African air freight cargo numbers are up, the global market has seen a sharp decline, recording a decrease in FTKs for the 12th consecutive month. Iata added that political and global conflicts such as Brexit, protest action in Hong Kong, and the ongoing US-China trade war had contributed to the 3.5% decline in global FTKs.
Commenting on the decrease, Alexandre de Juniac, director general of Iata, said it had been an extremely tough year for the entire industry.
“Demand is set to decline in 2019 overall – the weakest annual outcome since the global financial crisis. It has been a very tough year for the air cargo industry,” he said. – Bjorn Vorster
