Cargo markets remain weak in Asia Pacific
Preliminary August 2022 traffic figures released two days ago by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (Aapa) showed robust recovery in international air passenger markets as pent-up travel demand continued to drive growth, despite increasingly challenging global economic conditions.
Meanwhile, demand for exports waned, further dampening air cargo markets. As a result, August saw international air cargo demand, in freight tonne kilometres (ftk), decline by 7.9% year-on-year.
On the other hand, offered freight capacity expanded by 5.2%, with ongoing recovery in commercial passenger operations adding available bellyhold space. This led to a sharp 9.5 percentage point fall in the average international freight load factor to 66.4% in August. (cj)