The growth of air cargo is stabilising, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

It reports both international and domestic freight tonne kilometres (FTK) went up by 0.5 per cent year-on-year in September and, while this is slower than August's 3.4 per cent growth, air cargo is at its highest point in the last 25 months.

Chief executive officer and director general of IATA Tony Tyler said: "At a global level, the September results are aligned with our expectations for an improvement towards the end of the year. All indicators still point to strengthening business confidence as we approach the final quarter."

IATA noted strong regional variations in cargo, with Asia-Pacific carriers recording a 3.1 per cent fall, while those in the Middle East went up by 9.9 per cent.

Earlier this month, the organisation called on air cargo members to co-operate towards a mutual goal of improving the sector - it stated the two per cent growth since 2010 is underperforming against world trade's 12 per cent rise.