In April 2025, global air freight traffic—measured in cargo tonne-kilometres—increased by 5.8% compared to the same month the previous year, confirming the positive trajectory seen since the beginning of the year. On a monthly basis, seasonally adjusted demand rose by 2.3% over March. International traffic, which accounts for 87% of the total, performed even better, growing by 6.5% year-on-year. This is according to Iata’s monthly report.
This result is particularly significant given that available cargo capacity reached an all-time high of 52.4 billion tonne-kilometres, an annual increase of 6.3%. The load factor remained virtually unchanged at 43.9%, down by just 0.2 percentage points, indicating that the increase in capacity has been largely absorbed by demand. Capacity distribution continues to favour passenger aircraft belly-hold space, which now represents 54.6% of total capacity (a 6.9% annual increase), while dedicated freighters cover the remaining 45.4%, also growing by 7.1%.
Regional performance, however, varied significantly. Latin America and the Caribbean confirmed their position as the fastest-expanding market, with a 10.1% surge in demand and an 8.5% rise in capacity. The load factor improved by 0.6 percentage points to reach 39%, driven by floral exports linked to Mother’s Day and the transport of perishable goods.
The Asia-Pacific region was also highly dynamic, with a 10% increase in traffic and a 9.4% rise in capacity. This was primarily due to the acceleration of US imports ahead of the new tariffs that came into effect on 2 May. The average load per flight reached 44.8%, a 0.3 percentage point gain, consistent with rising volumes. North America showed more moderate growth, with demand up by 4.2% and a slight dip in the load factor to 38.6%, down by 0.2 percentage points.
Europe posted a 2.9% increase in volume and maintained the highest share of tonne-kilometre traffic among all global regions at 51.9%, despite a slight decline of 0.2%. In the Middle East, traffic rose by 2.3% and capacity by 5.5%, though the average load fell by 1.3 points to 43.5%. Africa returned to positive territory with a 4.7% increase in traffic, but faced a significant imbalance between supply and demand: capacity grew by 9.7%, which reduced the load factor to 41.6%, a drop of 2 percentage points.
In terms of trade corridors, April marked a notable recovery in intercontinental routes. The Europe–Asia route recorded the strongest growth at 11.3% year-on-year. Other solid performances came from the Middle East–Asia corridor (up 6.7%) and intra-Asia traffic (up 5.4%). These results contrast with intra-regional segments, particularly intra-European routes, which continued their negative trend with a decline of 8.8%.
In contrast, while the Africa–Asia corridor remained negative on a yearly basis (-7.9%), it saw a sharp month-on-month rebound of 30 percentage points, signalling a growing Chinese logistics presence on the African continent. Stabilisation signs also emerged on the Middle East–Europe route, where despite a 4.6% annual decline, traffic improved by 2.6% from March, partly due to new routing prompted by geopolitical risks in the Red Sea and the redistribution of flows between Europe and Asia.
From an operational cost perspective, April confirmed a downward trend in fuel prices. Brent crude stood at 67.8 US dollars per barrel, a 24.8% year-on-year drop, while jet fuel prices fell by 21.2% compared to the previous year and by 4.1% from March. This contributed to narrowing the crack spread to 17.5 dollars. Cargo yields, including fuel surcharges, rose by 1.7% both year-on-year and month-on-month, marking the second consecutive month of increase, driven by strong demand and a more favourable energy backdrop.
According to Iata, the seasonal rise in passenger flights will bring additional belly-hold capacity in the coming months, helping to keep traffic in check. However, the outlook remains uncertain: the introduction of US tariffs may reshape global trade flows, while Europe’s economic weakness and delays in aircraft deliveries represent further risk factors.
