Frankfurt Airport warns that economic indicators point to a slowdown in growth as it reported cargo volumes fell 1.7 per cent in March.

Germany and Europe’s largest air cargo hub saw volumes in March falling to 202,000 tonnes with the late timing of Chinese New Year and the early Easter holidays having a negative impact on results.

Operating company Fraport also warns that short-term capacity bottlenecks prevented economic growth over a longer period, while the exchange rate of the euro also had a negative impact on exports, which decreased far more than imports.

Eastbound cargo struggled with cargo on routes via Moscow declining significantly and Japan proving the only bright spot in the Far East due to extra freighter flights to and from Osaka.

In the Middle East, traffic to and from the UAE and Qatar compensated for Saudi Arabia declining.

Looking west, the USA, Argentina, Brazil and Columbia were strong and South America is experiencing a slow but sure economic recovery.