Mike King, Special Correspondent | May 09, 2012 11:05AM EDT
Global air traffic contracted 2.2 percent in March as 14 of the world’s top 20 freight airports experienced year-over-year declines, according to the latest figures from Airports Council International.
ACI said Europe’s economic slowdown had significantly impacted global trade, with a year-over-year decline of 4.3 percent across the continent, and leading hubs Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam reporting declines of 11.3 percent, 9.7 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively.
“Although freight rebounded to achieve positive year-over-year growth in the previous month of February, this high-growth rate stemmed from postponed shipments from January’s Chinese New Year,” ACI said. “Taking this into consideration, the overall global growth trend in air freight continues to be negative.”
Moving forward, Rafael Echevarne, ACI World’s director of economics and program development, said short-term prospects continue to be uncertain for air freight, “particularly in the major markets of Europe, which continue to experience recessionary type symptoms."
Contact Mike King at michael@borderline.eu.com.