The International Air Transport Association said the air traffic recovery would dip in April because of the disruption from the Icelandic volcanic eruption, which hit European carriers in particular.
Passenger and freight markets are still 1 percent below early 2008 highs and the industry has lost two years of growth, IATA Director-General Giovanni Bisignani said in a statement.
"Nonetheless, the pace of improvement, based on an impraoving global economic situation, is much faster than anybody would have expected even six months ago," he said.
Passenger demand was 10.3 percent higher in March than a year earlier, up from a 9 percent rise in February, and cargo demand rose 28.1 percent from 26.3 percent.
It was the fourth month in succession that year-on-year growth in freight demand had exceeded 20 percent, and the third month to see passenger demand over 5 percent.
Demand was now growing at a faster pace than capacity, IATA said. That drove the passenger load factor -- a measure of capacity usage -- to a record 78.0 percent in March, and the freight load factor to 57.1 percent.
IATA, whose 230 airline members include British Airways, Deutsche Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines , has said the six-day shutdown of much of European airspace this month cost airlines $1.7 billion in lost revenues.
Most of this was borne by European carriers who were already showing the weakest recovery from the crisis, it said.
"Passenger confidence is not affected and we expect a quick rebound. The combined impact of lost business and added costs will certainly hit the bottom line," Bisignani said.
European carriers saw the weakest rise in passenger demand after Latin American airlines in March, rising only 6.0 percent, and the weakest increase in freight demand, at 11.7 percent.
Middle Eastern carriers saw the biggest increase in passenger demand, of 25.9 percent, and Latin American airlines saw the strongest rise in freight demand, at 47.9 percent. (Reuters)
