Australian air cargo statistics show a 5.7 per cent drop in international airfreight for the year to October 2008, with Sydney Sydney securing its position as the country’s top international freight hub, Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) figures reveal.
Sydney handled 31,473 tonnes of airfreight in the year to October 2008,with Melbourne a distant second, handling 17,295 tonnes. Brisbane and Perth followed, with 7,163 and 6,215 tonnes respectively.
Overall volumes for the country were 64,166 tonnes compared with 68,045 tonnes in the year to October 2007. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that Asia-Pacific airfreight volumes were down 11% in October.
The Sydney-Auckland route was the busiest with 4,964 tonnes, while the Melbourne-Singapore route recorded 4,484 tonnes (7%).
Qantas remains the country’s leading airfreight airline with 23.4% of the market, down 0.3% from the corresponding period in 2007. Singapore Airlines was up 1.1%, to 16%.
Fifty-two international scheduled airlines operated services to and from Australia during the month, which included six dedicated freight airlines, according to the BITRE report.
