Cathay Cargo closes 2025 with solid December performance

Cathay Cargo posted year-on-year growth in cargo volumes in December 2025 and across the full year, the Cathay Group said in its traffic update. The airline transported 152,175 tonnes of cargo in December, a 6% increase from a year earlier. Total cargo tonnage for 2025 stood at 1,676,726 tonnes, up more than 9% compared with 2024.

Cathay Cargo’s available freight tonne kilometres (AFTKs) stood at 1.38 billion in December, up 8% from December 2024, while revenue freight tonne kilometres (RFTKs) rose 2.8% year-on-year to 806 million. Cargo load factor for the month was 58.4%.

For the full year to December 2025, total AFTKs increased 8.3% to 15.37 billion, while RFTKs rose 6.3% to 9.04 billion. The cargo load factor for the year stood at 58.8%.

Cathay Cargo operated 1,341 freighter flight sectors in December, slightly lower than a year earlier. For the full year, freighter sectors totalled 15,447, a 2.2% decline year-on-year.

Commenting on the performance, Lavinia Lau, Chief Customer and Commercial Officer of Cathay Cargo said: “Tonnage remained strong in December, despite a 3% decrease from the previous month as the festive season approached. Demand for our Cathay Fresh solution was strong, with the Air-Land Fresh Lane facilitating movements of seasonal produce from the Americas into the wider Greater Bay Area. Meanwhile, perishables from Oceania to Hong Kong also bolstered the overall growth of Cathay Fresh. Our Cathay Expert solution also performed well across Northeast Asia, driven by machinery movements within the region.

“Turning to January, we anticipate softer demand in the first half of the month but expect it to gradually pick up ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays.”