The first quarter of 2026 delivered a mixed performance for Air France KLM Martinair Cargo. Volumes increased, but revenues declined.
The group’s cargo division generated €600m in revenues, down 3.5% year on year. At the same time, volumes transported increased by 4% to 234,000 tonnes, while cargo traffic rose by 3.8% to 1.8bn revenue tonne kilometres.
Capacity increased by 2.9%, but because demand grew faster than supply, the cargo load factor improved by 0.4 percentage points to 49.4%.
The group noted that first-quarter 2025 revenues had been supported by elevated rates, linked to front-loaded shipments ahead of new US tariffs.
In January and February 2026, unit revenue at constant currency remained below last year’s level. In March, the Middle East conflict reduced market capacity and supported the group’s yields above 2025 levels.
The weaker dollar also weighed on results.
Air France-KLM also warned that fuel costs could rise sharply this year. The group expects total fuel costs to reach $9.3bn in 2026, $2.4bn higher than in 2025, with an expected impact of $1.1bn in the second quarter alone.
