Middle East may be one of the first to restore the level of freight activity - Oleg Sergeev

This opinion was expressed by top managers of airlines in six regions, who became participants in the new IATA survey.

IATA surveyed airline CFOs and cargo executives about expectations regarding the timing of demand recovery to pre-crisis levels. According to the survey results, it turned out that only 25% of respondents expect recovery within 12-24 months, while the rest believe that it will take more than two years.

More than 50% of respondents expect the Asia-Pacific region to be the first to recover levels of activity. 30% gave the second place to North America, the third went to the Middle East with a result of 7%. 45% of those surveyed consider Europe to be the last region to recover.

More than half of respondents reported that cargo volumes in the first quarter of 2021 were lower than in 2020, as the lack of cargo capacity continued to affect international cargo operations. Nevertheless, the share of respondents who noted an improvement increased from 26% to 37%. More than half of the respondents expect an increase in demand for freight transport and 19% expect a deterioration in freight transport volumes in the next twelve months.

ZetAvia, which transports all types of cargo to the Middle East, Europe and Africa on IL-76 cargo planes, expects a quick recovery in the regional market.