Yunus Girgin
08 January 2021•Update: 08 January 2021
ANKARA
The global air freight markets improved in November on a monthly basis, but passenger demand remained depressed compared to 2019, according to a leading trade group.
Air cargo demand continued to improve, increasing 1.6% month-on-month in November, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a statement on Thursday.
The group added that the global air freight market narrowed 6.6% on an annual basis in the month.
Global capacity, measured in available cargo ton-kilometers, shrank by 20% in November (21.3% for international operations) compared to the previous year.
"We are seeing continuing month-on-month improvements. Severe capacity constraints persist as large parts of the passenger fleet remain grounded. This will put pressure on the industry as it gears up to deliver vital COVID-19 vaccines," underlined Alexandre de Juniac, the group's CEO.
On the other hand, North America was the only region reporting year-on-year increase in demand with 5%.
Current month-on-month gains indicate that cargo tone-kilometers will return to 2019 levels around March or April 2021, IATA noted.
Air passenger demand still depressed in November
Total air passenger demand was down 70.3% compared to November 2019, almost unchanged from the 70.6% year-to-year decline recorded in October.
International passenger demand fell 88.3% year-on-year in November, slightly worse than the 87.6% year-to-year fall in October.
Domestic demand in the month was also down 41% compared to the year earlier.
