Air freight, passenger traffic growth slows in 2005

International air freight grew a "disappointingly low" 3.2 per cent, while passenger traffic expanded by 7.6 per cent in 2005, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said yesterday.

Air freight growth, a prime indicator of the health of world trade, was 15.8 per cent in 2004, while international passenger traffic expanded by 15.3 per cent that year, Geneva-based IATA said in a statement.

But passenger traffic growth was above the historical growth rate of six per cent, the Geneva-based organisation added.

Freight traffic growth was expected to pick up again in 2006 to reach five-six per cent, with passenger traffic expanding at the same rate.

Despite the growth recorded in 2005, airlines lost $6 billion, the organisation said. This loss is forecast to narrow to $4 billion in 2006. "The industry will not see black ink until at least 2007," IATA director-general Giovanni Bisignani said in a statement.