Cathay Pacific is looking to resume long-haul freighter destinations in Europe and the Americas starting June as Hong Kong’s travel restrictions and quarantine requirements continue to affect its business.

In April, the airline carried 92,361 tonnes of cargo last month, up 26.3 percent compared to April 2021, but down 43.6 percent decrease compared with the same period in 2019. On the passenger side, Cathay Pacific carried a total of 40,823 passengers for the month, or around 1.3 percent of the numbers seen over the same period in 2019. 

Cathay said flight capacity for cargo continued to recover in April, 29 percent of pre-pandemic capacity, as the airline maximised regional frequencies and resumed its freighter services to Frankfurt, which were halted at the end of December last year.

During the month, the airline saw mixed demand with cargo exports from Shanghai affected by the city’s lockdown, which has disrupted supply chains in the eastern part of China.

On the other hand, demand from Hong Kong began to recover as cross-border bottlenecks began to ease, driven primarily by sea feeders that helped offset the impact from cross-border trucking constraints.

Elsewhere, the airline saw healthy demand with machine parts and industrial products from Northeast Asia and the Americas particularly active, coinciding with the pre-holiday rush ahead of the Labour Day and Golden Week celebrations in Japan.

Cathay said it plans to add back long-haul freighter destinations in Europe and the Americas starting June, as well freighter services to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Cambodia.