Preliminary figures from the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) indicate that both air cargo and passenger markets are continuing to improve in April, despite disruptions to traffic in and out of Europe as a result of the volcanic ash cloud.

Air cargo demand remained strong, maintaining the positive trend of recent months, with 32.1 per cent growth in freight tonne kilometres (FTK) in April compared to April 2009. Freight capacity expanded by 13.2 per cent, while the average international cargo load factor for Asia Pacific carriers rose by 10.3 percentage points to 71.9 per cent.

A total of 15.2 million international passengers were transported by Asia Pacific airlines in April, an increase of 11.7 per cent compared to the same month last year.

International passenger traffic, in revenue passenger kilometre (RPK) terms, grew by 8.9 per cent. With available seat capacity rising by 1.2 per cent, the average international passenger load factor grew by 5.6 percentage points to 78.4 per cent, AAPA said in a statement.

"Notwithstanding the recent impact of disruptions to European air services, Asia Pacific carriers have recorded positive growth in both passenger and freight demand in April," said Andrew Herdman, AAPA director general.

"The 34 per cent growth we have seen in international air cargo traffic for the first four months of 2010 provides further confirmation of the strength of the global economic recovery currently underway, particularly here in Asia," Mr Herdman added.

"Overall, traffic demand is now back to the levels seen before the recession. The outlook for the coming months remains broadly positive, supported by Asia's buoyant economic growth, although concerns remain over regional imbalances, as well as oil and currency volatility."

Source: shipping online