African air cargo saw 10.6% year-on-year demand growth in April

African airlines saw 10.6% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in April. Demand on the Africa–Asia market increased by 25.8% compared to April 2023. April capacity increased by 18.7% year-on-year. 

Middle Eastern carriers saw 9.4% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in April. The Middle East–Europe market performed particularly well with 30.1% annual growth, ahead of Middle East-Asia which grew by 10.4% year-on-year. April capacity increased 5.7% year-on-year.

Other April Regional Performance

Asia-Pacific airlines saw 14.0% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in April – the strongest of all regions. Demand within the Asia market grew by 13.2% compared to April 2023, and the Asia-Europe route grew by 17.7%.  The Middle East-Asia route rose by 10.4%, 9.5 percentage points (ppt) less than the growth recorded in March. Capacity increased by 7.8% year-on-year.

North American carriers saw 7.0% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in April —the weakest among all regions. Demand on the Asia-North America trade lane grew by 7.3% year-on-year, while the North America-Europe route saw an increase of 5.6%, marking the largest demand growth for this route since September 2022. April capacity increased by 4.0% year-on-year.

European carriers saw 12.7% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in April. Intra-European air cargo rose by 34.4% compared to April 2023, reflecting the highest annual growth in over a decade and a jump of 8.1ppt compared to the month before. Europe–Middle East routes saw demand increase by 30.1%, experiencing a drop of 8.5ppt compared to the previous month’s figure.  April capacity increased 10.3% year-on-year.

Latin American carriers saw 11.7% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in April.  Capacity increased 9.8% year-on-year.