Air cargo demand up by 9% compared to pre-Covid-19 levels

The International Air Transport Association, (IATA), has said that air freight demand is continuing to out-perform pre-Covid-19 levels. Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), was up 9% compared to February 2019 and +1.5% compared to January 2021. Volumes have now returned to 2018 levels seen prior to the US-China trade dispute.

All regions except for Latin America saw an improvement in air cargo demand compared to pre-COVID levels and North America and Africa were the strongest performers. European carriers saw a 4.7% increase in demand in February compared to same month in 2019. Cargo demand was largely unaffected by the new lockdowns in Europe and the operating conditions remain supportive for air cargo.

International capacity decreased by 12.5% in February,

Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General said :”Air cargo demand is not just recovering from the COVID-19 crisis, it is growing.

With demand at 9% above pre-crisis levels (Feb 2019), one of the main challenges for air cargo is finding sufficient capacity.”

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