IATA Director Expresses ‘Shock’ in December Traffic Figures
International Air Transport Association (IATA) director general Giovanni Bisignani characterized December’s decline in international air traffic as “shocki
International Air Transport Association (IATA) director general Giovanni Bisignani characterized December’s decline in international air traffic as “shocking” during the British Air Transport Association’s annual dinner last night. Bisignani referred specifically to just-released figures showing a 22.6-percent decline in international cargo traffic compared with the same month in 2007. Meanwhile, passenger traffic fell 4.6 percent.
“Air cargo represents 35 percent of the value of goods traded internationally,” said Bisignani. “World trade is plummeting and the worst is yet to come. The only precedent is in the 1930s.” During September 2001, with much of the global fleet grounded, cargo traffic fell 13.9 percent.
