IATA Report Freight Traffic Bounced Back Last Month

WORLDWIDE - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced international scheduled traffic statistics for May which showed a 34.3% jump in freight demand compared to May 2009 despite some ongoing problems in Europe with the volcanic ash cloud which started to disrupt traffic in mid April, the strong surge in cargo traffic outstripped a capacity increase of 12.3%, pushing load factors to a record high of 55.7% (56.3% when adjusted for seasonality).

Air freight growth surged in May to 34.3% (significantly up from the 26.0% recorded in April). Latin American and African carriers recorded the fastest increases at 60.2% and 58.2% respectively.Asia-Pacific airlines, which represent the largest market share (45%) grew by 38.7% compared to the previous May on the strength of resurgent regional manufacturing. North American and Middle East airlines posted a similar growth of 35.3% and 38.6% respectively.

European carriers showed the weakest growth at 21.9%. IATA anticipate that the 15% fall in the value of the Euro will stimulate outbound traffic with cheaper European exports they believe traffic growth is contributing to a strengthening industry bottom line. IATA forecasts that airlines are expected to post a $2.5 billion profit in 2010 in a dramatic turnaround from the $9.9 billion lost in 2009.

Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO commented:

“In the short-term, airlines need to focus efforts on nurturing the recovery by continuing to match capacity carefully to improving demand conditions. And everybody must control costs. This includes airports, air navigation service providers, global distribution systems and labour. There are no exceptions.”