IATA World Cargo Symposium (WCS) host airline LATAM Cargo has revealed that, in 2025, LATAM Group’s cargo affiliates transported more than a million tons of cargo around the world and generated revenues of $1.7bn.
This represented 30% of the region’s market share, the cargo carrier noted, thereby consolidating its leadership in this space.
Cargo accounted for 11.4% of the Group’s consolidated revenues.
The carrier recalled that operational performance, international expansion and the ability to adapt in a demanding logistics environment were recognised in 2025 when LATAM Cargo Group was named ‘Cargo Airline of the Year’ by Air Cargo News, becoming the first South American airline to achieve this global distinction in the past 20 years.
Santiago Álvarez, chief commercial officer of LATAM Cargo Group, declared: “Our leadership in South America is the result of deep market knowledge and a model that combines a dedicated freighter fleet with the capacity of the Group’s passenger aircraft.
“This integration allows us to offer real flexibility to customers, respond to the seasonality of each industry, and maintain efficient and reliable connectivity throughout the year.”
Intercontinental growth
LATAM Cargo achieved its largest ever expansion between Europe and South America last year, growing to offer 15 weekly freighter frequencies and increasing capacity by 25% on that corridor.
This extensive air cargo network between the two continents is particularly important for perishable exports and industrial and pharmaceutical imports, the carrier said.
Perishables represent a key export for South America and form a large part of many LATAM Cargo shipments.
It carries, for example, salmon from Chile, fresh fruit from Chile, Peru and Brazil, and flowers from Colombia and Ecuador.
With regard to the latter, the Group transported approximately 250,000 tons of flowers from Colombia and Ecuador in 2025, maintaining a leading position in one of the most significant trade flows of this product between South America and the US.
This position was reaffirmed at the close of the 2026 Valentine’s Day season, when LATAM led flower shipments by air from both countries to the US and Europe for the fourth consecutive year.
In terms of fish, the company transported close to 80,000 tons of salmon out of Chile, primarily to the US. And the Group moved more than 70,000 tons out of Chile, Peru and Brazil last year.
High-value imports
LATAM Cargo also carried large volumes of cargo into South America, the main products transported including industrial loads, machinery, e-commerce shipments and pharmaceuticals.
The Group’s imports were up by 7% increase compared to 2024. Most notably, it moved 43% more pharmaceuticals, with its IATA CEIV Pharma network extending to 221 active routes.
WCS
WCS was held in South America for the first time this week, in Lima, Peru.
During the Symposium, Andres Bianchi, LATAM Cargo’s chief executive, enjoyed an ‘Executive Fireside Chat’ with Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general.
Their conversation covered issues such as the impact of geopolitical shocks on the air cargo business, bottlenecks in the airfreight industry and potential value of artificial intelligence (AI), where both agreed the technology would benefit the air cargo market, given the large amount of data the industry produces and utilises for its operations.
