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· March 2021 data for global air cargo markets showed that air cargo demand continued to outperform pre-COVID levels with demand up by 4.4 per cent thanks to the better performance in the Africa region, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA)
· African airlines’ cargo March surged by 24.6 per cent on an year -on –year- basis
· This is incidentally the strongest of all regions
· Robust expansion on the Asia-Africa trade contributed to the strong growth
March 2021 data for global air cargo markets showed that air cargo demand continued to outperform pre-COVID levels with demand up by 4.4 per cent thanks to the better performance in the Africa region, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
African airlines’ cargo March surged by 24.6 per cent on an year -on –year- basis. This is incidentally the strongest of all regions. Robust expansion on the Asia-Africa trade contributed to the strong growth. In March international capacity decreased by 2.1 per cent compared to March 2019.
March figures were at the highest level since the series began in 1990. Month-on-month demand also increased, albeit at a slower pace than the previous month, with volumes up 0.4 per cent in March over February 2021 levels.
Global demand was up 4.4 per cent compared to March 2019 and 0.4 per cent compared to February 2021. Global capacity continued to recover in March- up 5.6 per cent- compared to the previous month. However, capacity remained 11.7 per cent below pre-COVID-19 levels (March 2019) due to the ongoing grounding of passenger aircraft. Airlines continue to use dedicated freighters to plug the lack of available belly capacity.
