Preliminary traffic figures for the month of April released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) showed encouraging growth in both international passenger and air cargo markets.

Air cargo markets continued to grow, in spite of April being a seasonally subdued month. In freight tonne kilometre (FTK) terms, demand was 3.7 per cent higher than the same month last year. Offered freight capacity expanded by 4.7 per cent, leading to a slight 0.6 percentage point decline in the average international freight load factor to 63.5 per cent in April.

Commenting on the results, Andrew Herdman, AAPA director general, said: “The growth in demand for air travel has maintained strong momentum, with the region’s carriers registering a solid 9.4 per cent increase in the number of international passengers carried to a cumulative total of 90.7 million for the first four months of 2015. Correspondingly, air cargo markets recorded a 7.2 per cent increase for the same period, partly boosted by increased demand for air shipments due to the backlog of goods at US seaports.”

Looking ahead, Herdman, added: “The outlook for air freight demand in the coming months is more uncertain, given this is a seasonally weaker period, and will depend on the pace of recovery in world trade being maintained.”