Lufthansa Cargo has announced a sharp hike in its freight rates as it continues to talk up the possibility of grounding freighters, this time not because of night restrictions, but the poor economic climate.

In a letter to its customers at the end of August, Lufthansa Cargo said it is intending to unilaterally increase rates worldwide by 25 per cent.

In the letter executive board member Andreas Otto writes: “In order to meet the current market challenges, we will gradually raise our rates over the coming weeks by an average of 25 per cent worldwide. But even this increase will only partially compensate for the dramatic decline in rates in the last few months.”

On a more dramatic note, Otto goes on to state that: “If current market trends continue, we expect that, in the medium term, the majority of the world’s freighter fleet will have to be permanently grounded because there will simply be no economic justification for keeping these aircraft in service.”