The Sichuan earthquake and economic fragility in Japan were key reasons why Asian air carriers reported contracted passenger and cargo traffic in May, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports.
The Asian airline retrenchment was a contributory factor for a
significant drop in international cargo growth, down to 1.3 per cent,
while passenger traffic grew by 6 per cent – down on the 7.4 per cent
increase for the full year 2007, “but stronger than expected given the
economic downturn.”
At 1.3 per cent, cargo demand is “considerably down from the 4.3 per
cent recorded for the full year 2007.” IATA says. “For the first five
months of 2008, air freight volumes were up 2.8 per cent. The biggest
cause of the slow growth came from a 0.5 per cent contraction in Asian
carrier traffic. This resulted from the impact of the earthquake in
China and weakness in the Japanese economy.”
Asian carriers also experienced a weakness in trans-pacific markets,
IATA says, with increased competition from U.S. carriers taking
advantage of the weak U.S. dollar.
News & Interviews 
(0 vote)
