THE Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) has announced that in June international air cargo demand, measured in freight tonne kilometres (FTK), fell 2.2 per cent compared to the same month in 2012, reflecting ongoing weakness in key export markets.

Offered freight capacity rose by 0.3 per cent, leading to a 1.7 percentage point decline in the average international air cargo load factor to 66.2 per cent.

"Air cargo markets, however, remain depressed, with Asian airlines reporting a 2.4 per cent decline in freight traffic for the first six months of the year, reflecting persistent weakness in global trade conditions," said AAPA director general Andrew Herdman.

Asia-Pacific airlines carried a combined total of 18.3 million international passengers in June, up 7.1 per cent year on year. International passenger traffic, in revenue passenger kilometre (RPK) terms, rose 5.7 per cent while available seat capacity expanded 6.4 per cent, resulting in a 0.5 percentage point drop in the average international passenger load factor to 79.6 per cent for the month, a statement said.

In the first six months of the year, passenger traffic in the Asia Pacific region amounted to a total of 107 million international passengers, an increase of 5.6 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

"Prospects for the second half of the year remain challenging, given the underlying uncertainty over the global economic outlook, but Asian airlines are still confident about future growth prospects and are continuing to invest in further route development and customer service initiatives," added Mr Herdman.