In March 2024, African airlines experienced a 14.2% year-on-year growth in air cargo demand, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Air Cargo Market Analysis report published on April 30. This growth highlights a persistent trend of robust annual expansion in global air cargo markets. The report noted a substantial 17.3% year-on-year surge in the overall air cargo capacity of African airlines in March 2024.
However, there was a distinct drop in demand on the Africa-Asia route, which plummeted to 22.9%, representing a notable 19.8 percentage point decline compared to February’s figures. Despite this decline, March capacity increased by 17.3% year-on-year for African airlines.
Globally, the demand for air cargo saw a significant surge, with a 10.3% increase in March 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. International operations witnessed an even more impressive 11.4% rise.
The report also highlighted the distribution of total cargo traffic market share for March 2024, with Asia-Pacific leading at 33.3%, followed by North America at 26.9%, Europe at 21.4%, the Middle East at 13.5%, Africa at 2%, and Latin America at 2.8%.
In terms of available total air cargo capacity, March 2024 saw a 7.3% increase compared to March 2023, with international operations experiencing a notable 10.5% rise.
The sustained growth in air cargo demand was attributed to the ongoing expansion in global cross-border trade and industrial production. Despite some fluctuations in inflation rates and manufacturing output, the overall trend remains positive, indicating a promising outlook for the air cargo industry.
The report’s data indicates that African airlines, despite facing challenges on specific routes, continue to contribute significantly to the global air cargo market’s growth.
