Geneva  - January was the fifth consecutive month of contraction in international air passenger demand and was the eighth straight month of contraction for freight traffic, the International Air Transport Association said Thursday.

"Every region's carriers are reporting big drops in cargo," Giovanni Bisignani, the IATA chief, said in a statement.

Furthermore, "aside from the Middle East carriers, passenger demand is falling in all regions."

International passenger demand fell by 5.6 per cent in January compared to the same month last year, outpacing industry capacity cuts of 2 per cent.

The IATA called the contraction of cargo an "alarming collapse," as January saw a 23.2 per cent year-on-year demand drop, following a 22.6 per cent decline in December.

"The industry is in a global crisis and we have not yet seen the bottom," said Bisignani, noting that even the dramatic fall in oil prices has not compensated for the drop in demand. (dpa)