Airports Council International (ACI) World reports that global passenger traffic declined by -55.9% year-over-year by the end of March as a result of the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic. This followed a drop of -10.7% in February.
Global passenger traffic experienced an overall drop of -22.7% for the first quarter of 2020. The 12-month rolling average for the global industry entered negative territory, recorded at -3.1% by month’s end.
ACI said that the effects on the freight industry were “not yet as significant in March”, with global volumes declining by 14.4% compared to March 2019 and resulting in a 6.9% drop for the first quarter of 2020. The global 12-month rolling average continued to be negative at minus 3.8% by the end of the month.
ACI collects and analyses data from a significant sample of airports that provide regular reports on monthly passenger and air freight statistics, forming part of the world’s most comprehensive source for airport data.
ACI World Director General Angela Gittens said: “The second week of March was a turning point for the reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic as national governments implemented strict confinement measures which brought the industry to a virtual halt.
“While the crisis’s impact on passenger traffic was mostly in the Asia-Pacific in February, March figures showed its spread across the world, affecting both domestic and international markets.
“Global freight volumes have not been affected to the same extent as passenger traffic. The need to move time-sensitive shipments and vital supplies, including urgent medical supplies, and goods to support the global economy, helped the freight industry avoid the level of declines in demand experienced by the passenger traffic segment.”
Freight volumes
The international freight market moved significantly into negative territory in March with a loss of 15.7% compared to the slight gain of +0.4% in February.
For the third consecutive month, domestic freight continued its downward trend reaching 11.1% for the month, down from a 2.4% decline in February and a fall of 4.4% in January. As a result, total freight figures for March as well as the 12-month rolling average posted significant declines at 14.4% and 3.8% respectively.
Said ACI: “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has started to appear in all major freight markets.
“The global double-digit decline posted in March was mostly driven by Asia-Pacific (-17.2%) and Europe (-16.4%).
North America, on the other hand, recorded a less significant drop of -6.6% in total freight volumes mitigated by a relatively modest decrease in its domestic traffic of -1.6%.
North America’s international freight market, however, showed signs of weakness in falling by -13.8% for the month of March.
The Middle East (-17.9%), Africa (-20.8%) and Latin America-Caribbean (-23.4%) posted declines in line with major markets for March 2020.
Traffic table definitions:
- FREIGHT TRAFFIC: loaded and unloaded freight; data in metric tonnes
- INTERNATIONAL: traffic performed between the designated airport and an airport in another country/territory
- DOMESTIC: traffic performed between two airports located in the same country/territory
- TOTAL: international + domestic freight (when breakdown is available)
- Note: No domestic freight traffic is reported by airports in the Middle East and Africa regions.
- Year-over-year percentage changes (% YOY) are calculated from a representative sample.
- YOY Year-over-year same month comparison
- YTD Year to date, starting Jan 2019, compared to same period in previous year
- YE Year end, based on a rolling 12-month period, compared to same prior 12-month period
