News
Air Cargo remains bulwark of revenue for Asia's carriers
March 3rd 2021
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said passenger demand, measured by revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), fell 72% year-on-year in January, from the 69% decline recorded in December, as new virus variants prompted an infection surge that resulted in tighter travel restrictions. Read More » Asia-Pacific RPKs were down 71.5% year-on-year for the month, worse than the 63.8% drop in December. The airline lobby group's monthly traffic report, published overnight, said the fall off in traffic primarily was driven by domestic markets, particularly in Asia. "The January passenger performance is a deep concern," IATA director general and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac, said. "If air cargo was not doing as well, the industry as a whole would be in even deeper trouble." The cargo market was back to pre-COVID-19 levels, with cargo tonne kilometres (CTK) up 1.1% in January 2021 compared with January 2019, IATA said, although Asia-Pacific CTKs dropped by 6.8% for the month.
