Capacity as measured in available cargo/mail tonne-km decreased by 7.3 percent, while traffic fell by 15.3 percent. As a result, the cargo load factor dropped by 5.3 percentage points to 62.3 percent for the month.

Cathay Pacific general manager cargo sales and marketing James Woodrow remarked: “Demand once again remained soft out of the key Hong Kong and mainland China markets in May.

Demand was slow on long-haul routes, particularly to Europe, though traffic within the Asia Pacific region held up well,” he observed.

“We continue to manage capacity in line with demand, at the same time as developing new markets where possible,” Woodrow added.

Cathay Pacific launched new services to Hyderabad in India last month, in the wake of its new flights to Zhengzhou, the capital and largest city of Henan province in north-central China, that were inaugurated in March this year.