Cathay Pacific said it carried less cargo in April compared to a year ago as capacity continues to be restrained by “significantly reduced demand” as well as travel restrictions and quarantine requirements in place in Hong Kong and other markets amid the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic.

The Hong Kong-based carrier reported that it carried 73,113 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, a decrease of 13.6% compared to April 2020. The month’s revenue freight tonne kilometers (RFTKs) also dropped 31.3% year-on-year although the cargo and mail load factor increased by 12.5 percentage points to 83%.

It said capacity — measured in available freight tonne kilometers (AFTKs) — was, however, down by 41.7%.

Cathay Pacific noted that in the first four months of 2021, the tonnage fell by 26.7% against a 40% drop in capacity and a 27.5% decrease in RFTKs, as compared to the same period for 2020.

“On the cargo side, while we welcomed the easing of quarantine restrictions for cargo aircrew in Hong Kong in mid-April, the positive impact of the relaxation was not immediately realized due to crew rostering lead time and our overall capacity last month remained significantly affected,” Cathay Pacific Group Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Ronald Lam said.

“The number of freighter and cargo-only passenger flights that we operated was lower than at any point since the Covid-19 pandemic began, limiting our ability to provide more lift to what was a reasonably buoyant cargo market, particularly on long-haul routings,” he added, noting that this reduction in capacity together with the firm market led to a high load factor of 83%.

The crew quarantine rules were relaxed in mid-April for vaccinated crew after the Hong Kong government implemented a strict 14-day quarantine requirement for aircrew members, plus a week of medical surveillance, for locally-based flight crew, starting February 20.

In March, Cathay Pacific said cargo capacity fell 25% as quarantine rules hit.

In terms of passengers, the airline said its April performance continued to reflect the airline’s substantial capacity reductions. Cathay Pacific carried a total of 22,404 passengers last month, an increase of 63.2% compared to April 2020, but a 99.3% decrease compared to the pre-pandemic level in April 2019. In the first four months of 2021, the number of passengers carried dropped by 97.9% against a 90.2% decrease in capacity, as compared to the same period for 2020.

May cargo to “gradually recover” 

Hong Kong's flag carrier cited optimism about its performance moving forward — citing, among others, the positive impact of the easing of cabin crew quarantine measures.

“The latest relaxation of quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated Hong Kong-based aircrew operating passenger flights as well as those operating cargo services is a welcome development that will progressively reduce our monthly cash burn and have a positive impact on our passenger and cargo business,” Lam said, noting that more than 80% of its pilots and over 40% of its aircrew in Hong Kong have either booked or received their Covid-19 vaccination. 

“We expect our May cargo schedule to gradually recover as more of our crew are fully vaccinated,” he said.