AFRICAN airlines recorded a 3.0 per cent year-on-year increase in air cargo demand in August, while capacity expanded by 14.0 per cent, says the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
IATA disclosed this in its global air cargo market report for August, released on Tuesday.
The report said Africa recorded the largest capacity expansion among all regions, significantly outpacing the growth in demand.
The disparity resulted in a 3.9 percentage-point decline in Africa’s cargo load factor to 36.5 per cent.
IATA’s Senior Vice President, Sustainability and Chief Economist, Ms Marie Thomsen, said strong demand and higher load factors had helped airlines recover some impact of high fuel costs.
“Air cargo demand rose 4.4 per cent year-on-year in August with all regions reporting growth even as capacity was trimmed by 0.1 per cent,” Thomsen said.
She said yields increased month-on-month for the first time since April, while continued growth in global goods trade provided positive indications ahead of the year-end peak season.
According to the report, global air cargo demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTK), increased by 4.4 per cent year-on-year in August.
International demand rose by 5.3 per cent, while global capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometres (ACTK), declined marginally by 0.1 per cent.
International capacity, however, increased by 0.1 per cent during the month.
The report said Africa accounted for 2.1 per cent of the global air cargo market based on industry CTK in 2025.
Africa’s 3.0 per cent demand growth was below the global average and the performances recorded by most other regions.
North American airlines recorded the strongest growth at 6.6 per cent, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean at 5.1 per cent.
Asia-Pacific carriers recorded 4.3 per cent growth, while European airlines grew by 4.1 per cent.
Middle Eastern airlines recorded the weakest growth among the regions at 1.0 per cent.
IATA data also showed weakness in the Africa-Asia cargo trade lane, which contracted by 11.9 per cent year-on-year in August.
The corridor, which accounted for 1.3 per cent of the industry’s air cargo market share, recorded its third consecutive month of contraction.
Elsewhere, Asia-North America cargo traffic increased by 13.2 per cent, extending its growth streak to seven consecutive months.
Intra-Asia traffic grew by 6.1 per cent, while Europe-Asia cargo traffic increased by 3.1 per cent, extending its growth streak to 42 months.
Europe-North America cargo traffic also rose by 4.3 per cent during the month.
IATA said global trade increased by 6.0 per cent year-on-year in July, extending the run of consecutive monthly expansions to 33 months.
Global manufacturing activity remained supportive of air cargo demand in August.
The Global Manufacturing Output Purchasing Managers’ Index rose by 0.3 points to 53.0, while the New Export Orders Index increased by 1.4 points to 51.4.
However, operating costs remained a concern, with jet fuel prices rising by 8.3 per cent month-on-month in August.
IATA said jet fuel prices were also 79.2 per cent higher than a year earlier.
The association said sustained goods trade growth, improving manufacturing indicators and rising air cargo yields provided positive signals ahead of the year-end peak season.
Air cargo performance, however, remained uneven across major trade lanes, with Gulf-linked corridors facing disruptions linked to the conflict in the Middle East. (NAN)
A.I
Sept. 29, 2026
Tags: African airlines IATA
