Singapore Changi Airport reported another month of cargo slowdown in June as persisting global inflationary pressures continued to weigh on demand.

Airfreight throughput at Singapore Changi Airport — one of the world's busiest air cargo hubs — stood at 135,000 tonnes for the month, down 17% compared to the 163,000 tonnes recorded during the same period in 2022.

Last month's air cargo performance was also weaker than the 142,000 tonnes of air freight that the gateway handled in May.

From April to June 2023, airfreight throughput totalled 418,000 tonnes, a decline of 10.8% year-on-year. 

"Air cargo demand remained weak due to softening demand amid inflationary pressures," Singapore Changi Airport said in a statement.

India emerges as part of Changi's top air cargo markets

For the period, Changi said its top five air cargo markets comprised Australia, China, Hong Kong, India and the United States of America.

"India has emerged to be among the top five air cargo markets for two consecutive quarters since the start of 2023," the airport added.

In terms of aircraft movements, Changi Airport said a total of 27,500 landings and take-offs were recorded, about 88% of the June 2019 level.

Aircraft movements reached 81,400 or 86% compared to the corresponding period in 2019.

Meanwhile, the decline in air cargo numbers is in contrast with the surge in passenger volumes at the airport.

Changi Airport handled 5.12 million passenger movements in June 2023, crossing five million for the first time since January 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

This was 88% of the passenger movements in June 2019.

Changi Airport's top five traffic markets for the quarter were (in alpha order) Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. 

"Changi Airport continues to witness steady growth in passenger traffic, with passenger movements inching closer to 90% of 2019 levels as we close the second quarter. We are pleased to have crossed the five-million mark again in June with the mid-year holiday season," said Lim Ching Kiat, Changi Airport Group's executive vice president for Air Hub and Cargo Development.

He added that Changi had regained more than 80% of its pre-Covid city links.

"We look forward to strengthening connectivity to more points in Southeast Asia and China in the second half of the year," the airport executive further said.

In the second quarter of 2023, Indigo launched twice-weekly passenger services to Bhubaneswar, Changi Airport's first city link to India's eastern state of Odisha and 17th link to India.

Air Canada also announced the resumption of its Vancouver-Singapore service in April 2024, after more than three decades since the airline last operated at Changi.

As of July 1, 99 airlines operate over 6,300 weekly scheduled flights at Changi Airport, connecting Singapore to 148 cities in 49 countries and territories worldwide.