Air cargo capacity on a global level has continued to edge its way back to the levels registered a year ago following the grounding of operations in the Middle East, according to the latest figures from consultant Aevean.
The company yesterday released figures showing that international air cargo capacity on a global basis was last week just 2% down on the levels recorded in the same period last year.
At the height of the crisis, cargo capacity had been around 20% down on last year’s levels as carriers faced airspace closures across the Middle East.
Since then, affected airlines in the Middle East have been gradually restarting operations. Most recently, the world’s largest air cargo carrier, Qatar Airways Cargo, announced an increase in cargo operations.
Starting from 21 March, the carrier began offering a freighter schedule covering destinations in Vietnam, China, Thailand, South Korea, Nigeria, Kenya, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the US, Brazil, Ecuador and Panama.
However, there are nuances to the data provided by Aevean.
While cargo capacity is currently only down 2% compared with a year ago, data for January and February showed that air cargo capacity before the eruption of fighting in the Middle East had been up by 5.4% year on year in response to demand increases of around 6-7%.
This shows that while capacity is narrowing in on the year-ago level, it may still be lagging behind the demand increases experienced so far this year and, as a result, put pressure on load factors.
Elsewhere, the data from Aevean also shows that capacity into and out of the Middle East continues to lag far behind last year’s levels.
The consultant’s figures show that capacity from Asia Pacific into the region is down 24% year on year, while from the Middle East to Europe, there is a 15% decline.
In contrast, carriers have been shifting capacity on services from Asia Pacific to Europe to make up for the shortfall heading to Europe via the Middle East.
Aevean’s figures show a 31% increase in capacity from Asia Pacific to Europe.
[Readmore id= “30805”]
