Airfreight carried on international flights to and from Australia for 2008- 09 totalled 709,374 tonnes, down 9.2 per cent on 2007–08, reflecting the impact of the global financial crisis (GFC), according to the latest data from the Australian Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. This comprised 398,362 tonnes (or 56.2 per cent) inbound freight (down 16.0 per cent on 2007–08) and 311,013 tonnes (or 43.8 per cent) outbound freight (up 1.3 per cent on 2007–08).

Australian airline Qantas carried the greatest single share (21.8 per cent) of freight in 2008–09, followed by Singapore Airlines (16.2 per cent) and Cathay Pacific Airways (10.2 per cent). The Sydney–Auckland route had the single largest share (7.5 per cent) of all air freight in and out of Australia, followed by Melbourne–Singapore (7.2 per cent) and Sydney–Hong Kong (6.2 per cent).