By Jennifer Chang    Photo：CANVA

In today's ever-changing global economic landscape, Southeast Asia is playing an increasingly important role on the global trade stage with its booming economic vitality and rapidly developing air transportation industry. As regional economic recovery accelerates and the aviation market flourishes, many Southeast Asian countries have launched plans to expand or build new airports to meet growing demand.

According to Boeing's latest 2024 World Air Cargo Forecast report, the global air cargo industry continues to experience strong growth, with air cargo volume projected to grow at an average annual rate of 4% through 2043. Behind this growth, Southeast Asia's performance is particularly outstanding. In the last few months of 2024, air export freight rates in Southeast Asia, especially in countries like Vietnam, have risen significantly compared to the same period in 2023. This not only reflects the surge in air cargo demand in the region but also heralds the growing importance of Southeast Asia in global trade.

The reasons for this phenomenon are multifaceted. Firstly, the restructuring of global supply chains and the trend of trade diversification have led to the transfer of more and more manufacturing and trade activities to Southeast Asia. Due to Trump's threats to impose tariffs on China, further discussions and expectations have been triggered, predicting that trade diversification to Southeast Asia will be strengthened this year, with countries like Thailand and Vietnam appearing to gain significant benefits. In addition, India is also expected to benefit. These countries have relatively low labor costs and continuously improving production efficiency, attracting large amounts of foreign investment and driving rapid growth in export trade.

Secondly, the internal consumer market in Southeast Asia is also expanding. With continued economic expansion and rising consumer demand, the average annual air cargo volume in the Southeast Asian market is growing rapidly. Boeing predicts that in the next 20 years, the region's total air passenger traffic will grow at an annual rate of 7.2%, significantly higher than the global average. This strong growth is mainly driven by the Asian market, especially Southeast Asian countries. Vietnam's performance last year was particularly impressive, driven by strong demand for electronics, apparel, and smartphones, with many goods being shipped quickly to Europe and North America via express delivery, generating $405.5 billion in revenue for Vietnam, an increase of 14.3% over the previous year. This achievement demonstrates Southeast Asia's growing leverage in global trade.

To meet the surge in air transportation demand, Southeast Asian countries are accelerating the construction of civil aviation infrastructure. Many airports are undergoing upgrades to improve service quality and carrying capacity. For example, Singapore Changi Airport, Thailand Suvarnabhumi Airport, and Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City Tan Son Nhat International Airport are actively expanding or upgrading to meet the growing passenger and cargo transportation demands. In addition, some countries are planning to build new large airports to further enhance air transportation capacity.

In addition to the construction of hardware facilities, Southeast Asian countries are also actively promoting the upgrading of air transportation services. This includes improving the operational efficiency of airlines, optimizing air cargo processes, and strengthening aviation safety management. With technological advancements, more and more new technologies are being applied in the field of air transportation, such as artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things. The application of these technologies will further improve the efficiency and safety of air transportation.

The rapid development of Southeast Asia's air transportation industry has not only brought huge economic potential to the region but also brought new opportunities to global trade. With continuous investment in infrastructure and technological advancements, Southeast Asia will become an important hub for global air transportation, creating unlimited possibilities for higher growth in the future. At the same time, this will promote economic exchanges and cooperation within and outside the region, making greater contributions to the prosperity and development of the global economy.

However, the development of Southeast Asia's air transportation industry also faces some challenges. For example, the air transportation infrastructure in some countries is still relatively weak, the level of aviation safety management needs to be improved, and there are also differences in the quality of air transportation services. In addition, with the increase in air transportation volume, issues such as environmental pollution and energy consumption are becoming increasingly prominent. Therefore, Southeast Asian countries need to strengthen cooperation to jointly address these challenges and achieve sustainable development of the air transportation industry.

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