Global Airport News
European airlines witnessed another bad month of freight volumes in May and there are few signs of an upturn, two aviation groups said on Friday.
The latest gloomy outlook contrasts with French and Italian figures showing industry performed better than expected in May, fuelling hopes that the worst of the crisis may be over.
Economists watch air cargo volumes for signs that destocking of inventories, which had depressed global freight volumes along with a severe squeeze on trade financing, may be winding down.
"May was another catastrophic month for air freight, which posted a 19.8 percent decrease" year-on-year, said the Association of European Airlines (AEA), which represents 33 carriers including Air France-KLM and British Airways
"Several AEA airlines have seen their cargo volumes cut by one third or more," it added.
The group said passenger numbers fell 8.3 percent in May compared with a year earlier, with preliminary figures for June indicating a slight improvement.
"There is no relief in sight, however, in the air freight market," it added.
Airports body ACI Europe said freight dropped 20.1 percent year-on-year in May at the 105 airports it surveyed, a slight improvement on April's 25.4 percent fall.
The group gave no figures for June, but its director-general Olivier Jankovec last month told Reuters he forecast 2009 freight would be down 16 percent on last year.
In a rare but still fragile note of optimism, Frankfurt's airport operator said the decline in passenger traffic had slowed to 5.6 percent in June as demand continued to recover gradually from the economic slump.
