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June 1, 2010

International air freight volumes increased in April despite volcano ash cloud disruptions

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced international scheduled air traffic results for April 2010. Passenger demand slumped by 2.4% as a result of massive flight cancellations centered in Europe during the six days in April following the eruptions of an Icelandic volcano. The fall in traffic interrupted the industry's recovery from the global financial crisis.

International scheduled cargo traffic, less impacted by the cancellations, saw the pace of its recovery slow to 25.2% growth in April (down from the 28.1% improvement recorded in March).

"The ash crisis knocked back the global recovery - impacting carriers in all regions. Last month, we were within 1% of pre-crisis traffic levels in 2008. In April, that was pushed back to 7%," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's Director General and CEO.

The April drop in demand in Europe can be attributed to both the flight cancellations (two-thirds of the total decline) and follow-on cancellations due to uncertainty of the availability of air travel (one-third). Early indications for May show a rebound in travel from the disrupted levels in April.

Air freight was also impacted by the ash crisis, although less dramatically than passenger traffic. European carriers showed the weakest growth at 8.3%, down from the 11.5% growth recorded in March. Poor economic performance prior to the ash crisis had seen European airlines lagging behind the rebound experienced by other regions.

North American carriers recorded a 23.8% increase. While impressive, this was still below the 29.0% recorded in March. Latin American carriers saw the largest increase in cargo demand for the second straight month with a 63.0% increase - an improvement on the 47.9% recorded in March.

Asia-Pacific carriers, which make up 46% of international cargo operations, recorded growth of 33.2%, slightly below the 35.4% recorded during March.

Middle Eastern carriers saw their growth rate slow to 25.9% from the 35.5% recorded in March. African carriers also showed an improvement, from 51.4% in March to 54.6% in April.