IATA says African air cargo capacity rose by 14 per cent in August

World aviation body, IATA, says African airlines expanded their air cargo capacity by 14 per cent year-on-year in August.

Its global air market data for the month shows this significantly outpaced the 3 per cent growth in cargo demand across the region.

The modest increase means capacity across African airlines expanded significantly faster than the volume of air freight being transported.

The gap between capacity and demand resulted in a 3.9 percentage point decrease in the region's freight load factor, which stood at 36.5 per cent.

In addition, the Africa-Asia corridor recorded an 11.9 per cent year-on-year contraction in August, marking its third consecutive month of decline.

IATA said globally, air freight demand rose 4.4 per cent year-on-year, a positive sign as the peak end-of-year season approaches.