The sharp downturn in the air cargo market from October last year has resulted in British Airways World Cargo’ (BAWC) volumes falling 8.4 per cent over the third quarter of 2008, compared to a year earlier. A “marked and growing deterioration in market conditions” began during the third quarter of the financial year ending 31 December 2008, said British Airway’s cargo division. ¡°The turndown in market conditions since November has been unprecedented and we have yet to see it level out,” said Steve Gunning, managing director, BA World Cargo. “The situation is exacerbated by the ongoing imbalance of available capacity and market demand. The need to protect customer service whilst achieving productivity improvements and cost savings has never been greater.¡±