Emerging economies will lead airfreight growth - lata

International freight volumes are expected to grow at 3% per annum to total 34.5 million tonnes in 2016, according to the International Air Transport Association (Iata). That is 4.8 million more tonnes of air cargo than the 29.6 million tonnes carried in 2011. The organisation last week released an industry traffic forecast showing that airlines expected not only freight but passenger figures to increase drastically in the next three years. According to the Iata Airline Industry Forecast 2012-2016, the emerging economies of Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East will see the strongest growth. This will be led by routes within or connected to China. “Despite the current economic uncertainty, expected demand for connectivity remains strong. That’s good news for the global economy. Growing air transport links generate jobs and underpin economic growth in all economies. But exploiting these will require governments to recognise aviation’s value with policies that do not stifle innovation, tax regimes that do not punish success and investments to enable infrastructure to keep up with growth,” said Tony Tyler, Iata’s director general and CEO. Globally, aviation supports some 57 million jobs and $2.2 trillion in economic activity. CAPTION Emerging economies of Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East will see the strongest growth.