The recovery in international airfreight demand which began during the final quarter of last year was maintained during January, according to figures from the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines (AAPA).
The organisation's member carriers recorded a 33.1 per cent increase in year-on-year growth, in freight tonne km terms (FTK), in January.
The average international air cargo load factor for Asia-Pacific carriers in January was 12.6 per cent higher than in 2008, at 66.4 per cent.
AAPA member airlines handle around 40 per cent of global airfreight cargo each year.
'After two extremely difficult years, the initial signs for 2010 are quite encouraging,' AAPA director general Andrew Herdman told International Freighting Weekly.
'In the international air cargo market, the strong momentum of recent months has been maintained in line with a general recovery in international trade, although it is worth noting that air cargo volumes are still 7 per cent lower than they were two years ago,' Mr Herdman said.
