January figures spark alarm bells

Asia - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) both announced sharp decline in traffic for the month of January.

December's 22.6% contraction in the cargo market worsened in January with a 23.2% year-on-year demand drop.

According to IATA, Asia Pacific carriers suffered losses amounting to 28.1%, sparking alarm bells as the region's industrial base is responsible for 43% of the world's air cargo.

"Alarm bells are ringing everywhere. Every region's carriers are reporting big drops in cargo...the industry is in a global crisis and we have not yet seen the bottom," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's director general and CEO.

International passenger demand also contracted by 5.6% in January year-on-year. 

The 5.6% fall in passenger demand outpaced capacity cuts of 2%, driving the load factor to 72.8%, 2.8% below January 2008 figures, IATA said.

January traffic figures released by the AAPA echoed similar result. Air cargo demand continued to suffer, as AAPA's international freight tonne kilometres (FTKs) reported a 23.6% contraction from the same month last year.

AAPA said international cargo load factor dropped by more than seven percentage points to 56.6%, as capacity reductions failed to keep pace with the slump in demand.

"The operating environment remains extremely challenging. The collapse in world trade is having a severe impact on airfreight demand, forcing airlines to temporarily ground a number of dedicated freighter aircraft," Andrew Herdman, drector general for AAPA said.