The 'almost covert' nascent airfreight market recovery

Airplane plane takes off behind stack of cardboard boxes and stand with red up arrow. concept of air cargo and parcels, airmail. Fast delivery of goods and products. Cargo aircraft. Logistics,

By Tom Crabtree, Trade & Transport Group

15/12/2023

In 2021, as the world began to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, air cargo traffic boomed, growing nearly 19% that year over depressed year 2020 traffic volumes, bolstered by both e-commerce and severe disruption in containership-supported supply chains.

However, year-on-year air cargo traffic (measured in tonnes enplaned, multiplied by km flown) began to contract in March 2022, due to several factors, including the Russia-Ukraine war, inflation, and China’s “zero-Covid” policy.

Full-year 2022 air cargo traffic fell 8.1%, and continued to fall until ...