African airlines record 0.7% drop in November air cargo demand – IATA 

Despite the drop in demand, capacity increased by 0.4%, indicating that African carriers continued to respond by offering more space for cargo.

The data was sourced from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) report on global air cargo markets for November 2024, released in January 2025.

“African airlines saw a 0.7% year-on-year decrease in demand for air cargo in November, the slowest among regions. Capacity increased by 0.4% year-on-year,” the report read in part. 

While African airlines’ performance trailed other regions, global air cargo operations saw a 9.5% year-on-year increase in November 2024, marking the 16th consecutive month of growth.

Overall global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTK), rose by 8.2%, with international operations driving a more significant increase at 9.5%. Global capacity also grew by 4.6% compared to November 2023.

IATA’s Director General, Willie Walsh, praised November’s air cargo performance, noting that demand growth nearly doubled the increase in capacity.

He attributed part of this success to favourable fuel costs, which were 22% lower than the previous year, helping to support a 7.8% rise in yield.

However, Walsh cautioned that inflation, geopolitical uncertainties, and trade tensions could pose risks to future growth.

Despite Africa’s slowdown, the global picture remains positive, driven by robust demand from other regions. Asia-Pacific airlines led the growth, with a strong 13.2% year-on-year increase in demand, the highest among all regions. Capacity in the region rose by 9.4% compared to the same period last year.

North American carriers saw a more modest 6.9% year-on-year demand growth, with capacity increasing by 2.2%.

In terms of inflation, US headline inflation, based on the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI), increased by 0.1 percentage points to 2.7% in November. In the same month, the inflation rate in the EU rose by 0.2 percentage points to 2.5%.

Meanwhile, China’s consumer inflation fell to 0.2% in November, raising concerns about an economic slowdown in the region.