The International Air Transport Association (IATA) signaled optimism about the recovery of the air cargo industry amid current challenges brought by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and recent China lockdowns.

This as IATA reported that global demand — measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs) — fell 11.2% in April compared to the same period in 2021. Capacity was also 2% below 2021.

Global demand, however, was just 1% down from the level seen in 2019 before the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Global air cargo markets show[ed] a drop in demand and contraction in capacity. The effects of Omicron in Asia and the Russia–Ukraine war continue to create a challenging operating backdrop that is driving the decline," the trade association of the world's airlines said.

IATA noted that both global capacity and international capacity decreased slightly in April compared to March. Asia experienced the largest falls in capacity.

It said the war in Ukraine led to a fall in cargo capacity used to serve Europe as several airlines based in Russia and Ukraine were key cargo players. IATA added that the zero-Covid-19 policy in China also led to capacity challenges due to flight cancellations because of labor shortages.

"Air cargo demand fell by 11.2% in April and capacity contracted 2% compared to April 2021. The combination of the war in Ukraine and Covid-19 lockdowns in China have pushed up energy costs, intensified supply chain disruptions, and fed inflation," said Willie Walsh, IATA's director-general.  

"The operating environment is challenging for all businesses, including air cargo. But with China easing lockdown restrictions, there is cause for some optimism and the supply/demand imbalance is keeping yields high," he added.

Regional performance

Looking at regional performance, IATA noted that Asia Pacific airlines saw their air cargo volumes decrease by 15.8% in April 2022 compared with the same month in 2021. 

IATA pointed out that was the weakest performance of all regions and significantly slower than the previous month.

"Airlines in the region have been heavily impacted by lower trade and manufacturing activity due to Omicron-related lockdowns in China," it said.

North American carriers posted a 6.6% decrease in cargo volumes in April compared with a year earlier as "demand in the Asia-North America market declined significantly."

IATA noted, however, that other key routes such as Europe – North America remain strong.

European carriers, meanwhile, saw a 14.4% drop in demand in April as the Ukraine war and lower manufacturing activity in Asia dragged volumes for the month.

IATA said Middle Eastern carriers also reported an 11.9% year-on-year drop in cargo volumes during the period as "significant benefits from traffic being redirected to avoid flying over Russia failed to materialise."

IATA noted that this is "likely due to persisting supply chain issues in Asia."

Meanwhile, Latin American carriers posted the strongest performance in April with demand rising 40.9% year on year. 

African airlines also reported a drop in cargo volumes for April — or 6.3% lower than the same period in 2021.