ME carriers witness 5.5% YOY drop in March cargo volumes

Middle Eastern carriers experienced a 5.5 per cent year-on-year decrease in cargo volumes in March 2023, according to a report released by IATA. “This, however, was an improvement over the previous month’s decline (-7.1 per cent). The demand on Middle East-Europe routes has been trending upward in recent months with capacity increasing by 9.7 per cent compared to March 2022,” the report stated. March’s performance slipped back into negative territory compared to pre-COVID levels (-8.1 per cent). The capacity (measured in available cargo tonne-kilometres was up 9.9 per cent compared to March 2022.