Air Freight Falls 21.4 Percent

International air freight traffic fell 21.4 percent in March, a slight improvement from previous months but still the fourth month in a row the industry has fallen back by more than 20 percent.

The March report from the International Air Transport Association was the best year-over-year reading for the airlines since November. It included steep declines of 24.1 percent in Asia-Pacific trade and 23.3 percent in North America.

Air carriers also pulled capacity back a steep 7.8 percent compared to last year, including a 14.4 percent cut in available freight capacity in the Asia-Pacific region. Hit hard by declining Asia exports, carriers there have parked freighters in large numbers.

IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani said carriers face a growing threat to financial health from the growth of Swine Flu concerns around the world.

“IATA is working in close cooperation with the World Health Organization to ensure an efficient response of the air transport industry to the challenges that Swine Influenza will present,” Bisignani said in a statement. “It is still too early to judge what the impact of Swine Flu will have on the bottom line. But it is sure that anything that shakes the confidence of passengers has a negative impact on the business. And the timing could not be worse given all of the other economic problems airlines are facing.” Airlines saw a sharp downturn in passenger traffic in 2003 when concerns over SARS, a flu-like infection, coursed through Asia.