International Airport Review
Latest global air cargo data has revealed that full-year demand for air freight increased by 18.7 per cent compared to 2020 levels, following a strong performance in December 2021.
As comparisons between 2021 and 2020 monthly results are distorted by the extraordinary impact of COVID-19, unless otherwise noted, all comparisons below are to 2019 which followed a normal demand pattern.
- Global demand in 2021, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), was up 6.9 per cent compared to 2019 (7.4 per cent for international operations)
- Capacity in 2021, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), was 10.9 per cent below 2019 (12.8 per cent for international operations). Capacity remains constrained with bottlenecks at key hubs
- Improvements were demonstrated in December 2021; global demand was 8.9 per cent above 2019 levels (9.4 per cent for international operations). This was a significant improvement from the 3.9 per cent increase in November 2021 and the best performance since April 2021 (11.4 per cent). Global capacity was 4.7 per cent below 2019 levels (‑6.5 per cent for international operations)
- The lack of available capacity contributed to increased yields and revenues, providing support to airlines and some long-haul passenger services in the face of collapsed passenger revenues. In December 2021, rates were almost 150 per cent above 2019 levels
