Air carriers in the Middle East report 8.8% growth in International freight traffic in February

This figure allowed the Middle East airlines to outstrip their European counterparts and to be in fourth place out of six possible places in the IATA report for February 2021.

The most significant support for Middle East carriers came from two key international routes: the Middle East-Asia and the Middle East-North America. The growth in the volume of international cargo transportation by them amounted to 27% and 17%, respectively. Compared to January, the growth was 6.8%.

Of course, ZetAvia, whose IL-76 cargo planes fly to the countries of the Middle East, Europe and Africa, also makes a positive contribution to the restoration of the region's aviation industry during a pandemic.

The demand for cargo transportation by African airlines in February 2021 increased by 44.2% compared to the same month of 2019, which is the highest rate of any region. In February, international capacity increased by 9.8% compared to February 2019.

Next, in descending order, are North American operators (plus 17.4%), airlines in the Asia-Pacific region (plus 10.5%) and European carriers (plus 4.7%). The negative dynamics in February was recorded only by Latin American carriers, which reported a decrease in the volume of international cargo transportation in February this year by 20.5%.

In its report, IATA compares February 2021 with February 2019, as comparisons of results to 2020 are skewed month by month by the extreme impact of COVID-19. The Association emphasizes that the statistics for 2019 correspond to the normal structure of demand.

Oleg Sergeev