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IATA calls on governments to support cargo
March 20th 2020
International Air Transport Association (IATA) director general and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac, has called for governments to recognise air cargo as an essential part of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Read More »
A consequence of the global suspension of passenger flights in response to government efforts to stem the spread of the disease and the sharp decline in demand has been a reduction in cargo capacity.
Figures from IATA showed about 185,000 passenger flights have been cancelled since the end of January in response to government travel restrictions.
"With this, vital cargo capacity has disappeared when it is most urgently needed in the fight against COVID-19," de Juniac said in a statement on March 16.
"The world’s fleet of freighter aircraft has been mobilized to make up this capacity shortfall.
“Governments must take urgent measures to ensure that vital supply lines remain open, efficient and effective."
In addition to fully utilising their freighter fleets, some airlines are using some of their passenger aircraft to operate freight only flights to replace some of that lost capacity.
Traffic statistics for February showed there has been some activity in the freight market among airlines in the Asia-Pacific.
Singapore Airlines' (SIA) monthly traffic figures for February showed cargo traffic, measured in freight tonne kilometres (FTK), rose 8.6% in the month, compared with the prior corresponding period. Cargo capacity, or available freight tonne kilometres (AFTK), was 2.1% higher.
The airline said the amount of freight it carried rose 10.9%, while the cargo load factor was up 3.5 percentage points at 58.7%.
On a regional basis, SIA said cargo load factor jumped 14.5 percentage points on East Asia routes to 59.4%.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific said there were some encouraging signs in the cargo market as people in China were returning to work.
“The prolonged Chinese New Year holiday together with efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak in early February led to a delay in the resumption of production in mainland China," Cathay Pacific Group Chief Customer and Commercial Officer, Ronald Lam, said in a statement on March 16.
"Demand for outbound airfreight from the mainland and Hong Kong only began to recover progressively from mid-February.
“In contrast, there was an overflow of demand for cargo services into mainland China and Hong Kong partly due to significant capacity cutbacks and a surge of pharmaceutical-related orders. Our cargo load factor grew 5.8 percentage points with stable yield in February when compared with last year." Cathay said AFTK was down 15.1% in the month.
IATA called on governments to exclude air cargo from any coronavirus-related travel restrictions to ensure life-saving medical products could be transported without disruptions.
This included exempting pilots and crews operating cargo aircraft from quarantine requirements, noting they did not interact with the general public, and removing economic impediments such as landing fees, overfly charges and slot restrictions.
IATA said it supported the introduction of temporary traffic rights for cargo operations where restrictions might apply.
"Air cargo carriers are working closely with governments and health organizations around the world to safeguard public health while also keeping the global economy moving," de Juniac said.
"Today, as we fight a global health war against COVID-19, governments must take urgent action to facilitate air cargo. Keeping cargo flowing will save lives."
The impact of the loss of belly space for cargo on passenger flights can be found in the traffic figures of the three largest Chinese carriers, Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines.
While the trio's February traffic statistics showed steep falls in passenger numbers and the amount of freight carried, there was a rise in cargo load factors.
Air China said on its website cargo load factor was up 9.6 percentage points at 40% in February, while AFTKs dropped by about two-thirds.
It was a similar story at China Eastern, where cargo load factor in the belly hold space of passenger aircraft was up double digits, or 11.5 percentage points, at 32.1% while ATKs were down 70.7%.
And China Southern said in a regulatory filing on March 18 its cargo and mail load factor was 16.8 percentage points higher in February at 58.8%, while its total ATKs were down 60%.
