AAPA: air cargo demand declined in May
The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (Aapa) recently released its preliminary traffic figures for May 2023. The region’s carriers registered a 193.2% year-on-year increase in the number of international passengers carried to 21.4 million in May, whereas subdued demand conditions, driven by weak business confidence levels adversely impacted air cargo markets.
In freight tonne kilometres (ftk) terms, air cargo demand fell by 7.0% year-on-year in May. Offered capacity rose by 6.0%, leading to an 8.5 percentage point decline in the average international freight load factor to 60.1% for the month.
Looking ahead, Subhas Menon, Aapa's director general, said: “Trade tensions are likely to weigh down on cargo markets for some time to come, whereas air travel demand is expected to demonstrate resilience in spite of the headwinds in the external environment.” (cj)