Nov. Traffic Down 4.6 % Worldwide

World airlines took a 4.6 percent hit on traffic in November when cargo traffic dropped a dramatic 13.5 percent, according to statistics released by the International Air Transport Association yesterday. With a capacity drop of 1.0 percent, November international passenger load factors stood at 72.7 percent, down about three percent over the year-ago period.
“The 13.5 percent drop in international cargo is shocking," said IATA Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani. "As air cargo handles 35 percent of the value of goods traded internationally, it clearly shows the rapid fall in global trade and the broadening impact of the economic slowdown. By comparison, this is largest drop since 2001, in the aftermath of September 11. The industry is now shrinking by all measures. We can expect deep losses in the fourth quarter.”