Cargo traffic for the Big Three European legacy carriers – Deutsche Lufthansa AG, British Airways and Air France-KLM – fell sharply in August, which is especially worrisome considering that the busy holiday peak season is coming soon, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Lufthansa Cargo reported a 5.5 percent, year-over-year, decline, noting that traffic fell 4 percent from July to August and cargo capacity was up 2.6 percent, y-o-y. Air France-KLM’s cargo was down 8.9 percent in August, y-o-y, and British Airways said its cargo business was also down 7.8 percent, compared to August 2014.
The decline falls into line with the 0.6 percent drop in global air freight reported by IATA in its July report. IATA said the weakness in the airfreight market is due to declines in trade activity primarily in emerging markets, such as Brazil and Argentina.