Russia-Ukraine Conflict Will Have Negative Impact On Air Cargo -- IATA

KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 (Bernama) -- The Russia-Ukraine conflict will have a negative impact on air cargo while airspace closures will stop direct connectivity to many markets connected to Russia, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Air cargo markets showed slower growth in January 2022, weighed by supply chain disruptions and capacity constraints, as well as a deterioration in economic conditions. Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs), was up 2.7 per cent compared to January 2021 (3.2 per cent for international operations). However, this was significantly lower than the 9.3 per cent growth seen in December 2021 (11.1 per cent for international operations). IATA director-general Willie Walsh said the association expects cargo markets to be impacted by the Russia-Ukraine conflict due to sanction-related shifts in manufacturing and economic activity, rising oil prices, and geopolitical uncertainty. “Capacity is expected to come under greater pressure and rates are likely to rise. To what extent, however, it is still too early to predict,” he said in a statement. However, the association said that overall, the impact on global markets is expected to be low as cargo carried to, from, and within Russia accounted for just 0.6 per cent of the global cargo carried by air in 2021. “Several specialised cargo carriers are registered in Russia and Ukraine, particularly those involved with heavy lift operations,” he added. As for capacity, it was 11.4 per cent above January 2021 (10.8 per cent for international operations). While this was in positive territory, compared to pre-COVID-19 levels, capacity remained constrained at 8.9 per cent below January 2019 levels. On supply chain disruptions and deterioration in economic conditions, IATA attributed them to flight cancellations due to labour shortages, winter weather and to a lesser extent the deployment of 5G in the United States, as well as the zero-COVID policy in mainland China and Hong Kong. -- BERNAMA