LOCAL air cargo volume grew 10.8% to 595.804 million kilograms (kg) in 2009 over the previous year’s 537.669 million kg, according to latest data from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines was the top cargo airline for 2009, followed by Cebu Pacific then PAL’s sister company, PAL Express.
Cargo volume was highest in December 2009 with 55.172 million kg, up 60.5% from 34.381 million kg posted in the previous year. In 2008, the highest air cargo volume was recorded in May with 67.189 million kg.
Good volumes were also reported in January, June, July, August, September, October and November 2009 with more that 40 million kg per month.
On the other hand, weak volumes were experienced from February to May with an average 35 million kg per month, with February recording the least at 30.338 million kg.
Passage sector
In the passage sector, traffic grew 13.2% in 2009, with 40.934 million domestic passengers compared to 36.162 million for 2008.
Cebu Pacific was the top carrier for the sector, followed by PAL and PAL Express.
The most number of passengers was recorded in May 2009 (4.093 million); February had the least at 2.880 million.
