Demand for cargo charters expects to be soften as passenger services resume & belly capacity increases: CAPA

In an executive summary of mid-year outlook for Indian aviation in FY2021 released by CAPA India, “Cargo volumes are expected to reach pre-COVID levels much earlier than passenger traffic. In September 2020, international cargo was down just 13.6 per cent year-on-year (compared with -87.8 per cent for passengers), while domestic volumes were down 20.0 per cent (compared with -65.1 per cent for passenger traffic). Recent economic indicators also suggest that exports are showing a significant recovery. As passenger services resume and belly capacity increases, it is expected that the demand for cargo charters will soften, as has been observed in recent weeks.

Airline networks will remain extremely dynamic during COVID with carriers likely to operate to an evolving set of destinations, including those which it may not have served prior to the pandemic. There may be some permanent shifts in networks even once the market stabilises.

CAPA India has regularly urged the Indian aviation industry to push for structural change. Policy and regulations must be based on global best practices, costs must be rationalised, and corporate governance must be transformed to ensure that operators demonstrate the highest level of accountability to shareholders, banks and their staff.