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Air cargo volume drops 4.2%

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In May, domestic carriers transported 24 million passengers, rising 11.8 percent year-on-year.

Chinese mainland airlines suffered annual declines in cargo volume in May for the first time this year as the market remained quiet, especially on overseas routes.

Cargo volume dropped 4.2 percent from a year earlier to 447,400 tons in May, including a 16 percent dip on international routes to 138,700 tons, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

The Japanese earthquake and tsunami disaster continued to impact trade between China and Japan with cargo volume on the route dropping 17.3 percent in May from a year earlier. Meanwhile, cargo volume between China and South Korea slumped 44.3 percent, the administration said.

China Eastern Airlines, the country's second largest carrier, delivered 108,360 tons of cargo in the period, dropping 12.68 percent from a year earlier, and Air China sent 98,490 tons of cargo, edging up 1.3 percent.

"In May, the market remained quiet and well below the strong May 2010 result when restocking of inventories remained in full swing," said James Woodrow, general manager of Cathay Pacific Cargo Sales & Marketing. "Europe was particularly weak and Cathay Pacific reduced Europe capacity to better match the lower demand."

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific and its affiliate Dragonair carried 138,095 tons of cargo and mail last month, a 12.9 percent decrease compared to one year ago, while the cargo and mail load factor was down 10.9 percentage points to 68.2 percent.

In May, domestic carriers transported 24 million passengers, rising 11.8 percent from a year earlier.