GENEVA, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Wednesday that global air freight markets for February 2018 showed a 6.8-percent increase in demand compared to the same period last year, but protectionist risks persist.

IATA said in a statement released here that adjusted figures showed that by combining growth in January and February, demand increased by 7.7 percent, the strongest start to a year since 2015.

"The positive outlook for the rest of 2018, however, faces some potentially strong headwinds, including escalation of protectionist measures into a full-blown trade war," said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA's director general and chief executive officer (CEO).

"Prosperity grows when borders are open to people and to trade, and we are all held back when they are not," warned the IATA chief.

Asia-Pacific airlines saw demand in freight volumes grow 6.5 percent in February 2018 and capacity increase by 7.2 percent, compared to the same period in 2017.

"As the largest freight-flying region, carrying close to 37 percent of global air freight, the risks from protectionist measures impacting the region are disproportionately high," IATA cautioned.

North American airlines' freight volumes expanded 7.3 percent in February 2018 compared to the same period the preceding year, and capacity increased by 4.1 percent, said IATA.

European airlines posted a 5.7-percent increase in freight volumes in February 2018.

This was almost half the rate of the previous month and the slowest of all regions.

"The strength of the euro and the risks from protectionist measures may impact the European freight market which has benefited from strong export orders, particularly in Germany, in recent years," said IATA.