The latest traffic data for June, released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) continued to show slowing global demand for air transport.

However, while global freight traffic fell 0.8 per cent in June, the Middle East delivered the strongest regional performance with a 12.1 per cent rise in traffic volumes, up from the 10.7 per cent figure for May.

This is in comparison with a 12.7 per cent slump in Latin America and a 4.8 per cent drop in Asia Pacific.

However, Middle East carriers saw passenger traffic growth slow to 9.6 per cent in June from 12.8 per cent in May. This is sharply down from the 18.1 per cent growth recorded in June 2007.