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For a long time, air cargo has been the business area of large cross-border logistics companies including FedEx and some airlines based on key air cargo hub airports, and most airlines have taken cargo a supplement to the passenger transport business.

After the outbreak of the epidemic, passenger routes were suspended on a large scale, and the lack of belly cabin capacity of passenger aircraft, which accounted for half of air cargo capacity, made air cargo quickly got busy.

According to the data released by Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), in 2020, when the belly compartment of a passenger aircraft carrying about 70 percent of the cargo volume is suspended, the cargo transport volume still reached 6.766 million tons, equivalent to 89.8 percent in 2019; airport cargo and mail throughput reached 16.079 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of only 6 percentage points.

As the impact of the epidemic begins to fade, will air cargo return to its previous “normal state”? Market insiders predicted that over the next few years, air cargo will continue to play a greater role than before the epidemic.

On May 11, Brian Pearce, chief economist from The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in the past, freight revenue generally accounted for 10-15 percent of airlines’ total revenue, but now this figure has risen to 30-35 percent, according to Beijing-based China Times on Monday.

He predicted that due to the continued cross-border travel restrictions, many long routes will not return to normal in the next few years, so freight revenue will continue to account for a relatively high proportion of the airlines’ revenue structure.

One benefit of the epidemic is that airlines will recognize the contribution of freight business to overall revenue. With the entire industry in the dark, this has become a bright spot for airline business, Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general said.