While global airport passenger traffic increased by 3.4% in April 2016, global airfreight expanded just slightly in the month, as cargo volumes rose a mere 1% year-on-year, according to the latest statistics from Airports Council International (ACI).
In Asia-Pacific, airfreight grew by only 1.3%, while in Europe, growth was more robust at 5.4%.
Nevertheless, many of the world’s freight hubs contracted compared to 2015. Out of the top 20 airfreight centers, seven reported growth rates of 1% or less. Because airfreight is highly concentrated, with the top 20 hubs occupying almost half of global volumes, this weak growth among the major airports pulls down the global growth figure, said ACI.
In Europe, significant airfreight volume losses were observed at Istanbul-Ataturk, Paris-Orly, and Izmir.
Airfreight declines in Asia-Pacific were more pronounced at Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.
In Latin America-Caribbean, consistent with macroeconomic realities, the largest airfreight volume declines were observed at Rio de Janeiro-Galeão and Viracopos in Brazil.
In the Middle East, despite the robust airfreight growth of 4.9% for the region as a whole and impressive growth at Doha and Dubai, growth was offset by airfreight declines at Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.
At the country level, the three largest airfreight markets balanced each other out: airfreight traffic rose 3.7% in the United States, volume jumped 3% in China, and growth remained flat in Japan at 0.3%. Germany and India remain promising with 4.6% and 4.5% growth in airfreight volumes, respectively, said the organization.
Photo: Dan Sellers
