Asia Pacific airlines reported another month of cargo growth in November, driven by holiday demand towards the end of the year.

This marks the third month of continuous cargo growth for airlines in the Asia Pacific.

Traffic figures released by the Kuala Lumpur-based Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) showed international air cargo demand — measured in freight tonne-kilometres (FTK) — up 8.4% compared to the same period in 2022.

This comes after a 3.2% year-on-year growth in October and September, the first increase for 2023.

[Source: AAPA]

"Following a prolonged period of subdued demand conditions, growth in air cargo markets gained momentum," AAPA said in its report.

It added that higher demand for consumer goods driven by the approaching year-end festive period underpinned an 8.4% year-on-year growth in international air cargo demand as measured in freight tonne kilometres (FTK) in November.  

However, AAPA said the international freight load factor eased by 1.5 percentage points to average 62.0% for the month after accounting for an 11.0% year-on-year expansion in offered freight capacity.

Commenting on the results, Subhas Menon, director-general at AAPA, said challenging economic conditions continued to impact the air cargo sector.

"Subdued economic conditions have resulted in a 4.2% overall decline in air cargo demand for the first eleven months of 2023, despite some growth in volumes since September," he said.

Looking ahead, Menon noted that despite a slowdown in global economic activity and an increase in geopolitical tensions, Asia Pacific carriers saw healthy growth in international passenger demand throughout the year, in tandem with the restoration of flight frequencies and connectivity.

"Air cargo markets have picked up, but uncertainties remain, with new export orders still in decline," he said.

"Overall, the outlook for air travel demand remains positive, with a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels expected in 2024. Nevertheless, amid intensifying competition, airlines continue to be vigilant over costs, given fluctuations in oil prices as well as exchange rate volatility," the AAPA chief added.