Strong domestic markets have supported global air passenger traffic’s healthy growth trajectory during November, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) said on Thursday.

However, Africa remained the weakest link in the overall deceleration of international air travel growth, which had broadly tracked sideways since August.

Total revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) during November rose 6% year-on-year and represented an acceleration on the 5.7% growth reported in October.

Overall, November’s growth remained above the ten-year average rate of 5.6%.

During the month under review, demand for domestic travel experienced a 6.9% year-on-year uptick, with capacity expanding 4.5% and the load factor climbing 1.7 percentage points to 79.3%.

Iata pointed out that, while international RPKs grew 5.4% year-on-year in November – a slight decrease on the 5.6% gain reported in October – the growth rate fell below its long-running average of 6.3%.

The biggest “downward influences” emerged from African and Asian carriers.

“All regions except Africa recorded [year-on-year] increases in demand. However, compared to October, most regions reported slower demand growth for November,” Iata director-general and CEO Tony Tyler said.

African carriers recorded a 2.5% contraction in November traffic compared with the same month in 2013.

The continent’s capacity fell 3.1%, causing the load factor to rise 0.4 percentage points to 63.8%, the lowest for any region.

“Passenger volumes for the region’s carriers are back at late 2012 levels,” the association commented, noting that it “appeared” to reflect adverse economic developments in parts of the continent.

“The impact on traffic owing to the Ebola outbreak is largely restricted to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – markets that comprise a very small proportion of overall African traffic,” Tyler said.

Overall, international air passenger capacity rose 5.9% and the load factor dipped 0.3 percentage points to 75.1%.

While the demand in November was healthy, the overall picture remained mixed, Tyler noted, explaining that strong traffic performance within China and India did not carry over into international demand for Asia-Pacific carriers.

“And while lower oil prices should be positive for economic activity, softening business confidence is having a dampening effect on international travel," he concluded.