The International Air Transport Association (Iata) is reporting an increase in travel momentum as the world increasingly lifts Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. Whilst this build-up is mostly in the passenger sector, it also bodes well for air cargo as traditionally at least 50% of airfreight is transported in the bellies of passenger planes.The outbreak of Covid-19 saw some 75% of this airfreight capacity removed from the market due to the severe reduction in air travel that ensued, along with the overall grounding of passenger aircraft.“The capacity constraints we have seen in airfreight are slowly resolving as more passenger travel means more belly capacity for air cargo,” said Willie Walsh, Iata’s director-general.According to Iata, there has been a sharp, 11% increase in international tickets sold in recent weeks. This comes as more countries announce a relaxation of Covid-19 border restrictions. “The momentum towards normalising traffic is growing,” said Walsh. He emphasised the need for faster progress, saying the world remained far from 2019 levels of connectivity.Walsh said the ongoing restriction of air travel was negatively affecting economies as this was hampering their ability to trade – while at the same time, this had not stopped the spread of the virus. According to Iata statistics, demand for air cargo has continued to rise and at the last count when measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTK), was up 9.4%. With more airlines f lying again, capacity constraints on the airfreight market have eased somewhat, but the situation is still far from ideal.
