ANA has recorded its highest ever international cargo revenue in a fiscal year as the airlines saw 328.7 billion yen in transactions, up 104.8 percent from that seen in the previous year.

The Japanese airline attributed its strong performance in international cargo services to robust demand and a shift to air transport as a result of congestion in marine transport.

ANA said it was able to fully utilise its freighter aircraft as it introduced new routes with the group’s Boeing 777F freighter, including Tokyo Narita-Los Angeles route in April 2021, Tokyo Narita-Hong Kong and Tokyo Narita-Taipei route in October 2021, as well as on the Tokyo-Qingdao route in November 2021.

The airline said it also actively responded to strong demand by deploying passenger aircraft to fly dedicated cargo flights and by capturing demand for the transport of high-value goods such as automotive parts, semiconductors, electronic equipment and vaccines.

Despite the success in its cargo operations, the continued impact of Covid-19 weighed on the airline’s other business activities as it reported a loss for the second consecutive fiscal year, with revenue and number of passengers at around 10 percent of the pre-Covid levels.

The airline reported an operating loss of 173.1 billion yen, an ordinary loss of 184.9 billion yen, and a net loss attributable to owners of the parent of 143.6 billion yen.