BRUSSELS, July 10 (Reuters) - European airlines witnessed another bad month of freight volumes in May with few signs of an upturn, two aviation groups said on Friday.
"May was another catastrophic month for air freight, which posted a 19.8 percent decrease" year-on-year, said the Association of European Airlines, which represents 33 carriers including Air France-KLM and British Airways.
"Several AEA airlines have seen their cargo volumes cut by one third or more," it added.
The group said passenger numbers fell 8.3 percent in May compared with a year earlier, with preliminary figures for June indicating a slight improvement.
"There is no relief in sight, however, in the air freight market," it added.
Airports body ACI Europe said freight dropped 20.1 percent year-on-year in May at the 105 airports it surveyed, a slight improvement on April's 25.4 percent fall.
The group gave no figures for June, but its director-general Olivier Jankovec last month told Reuters he forecast 2009 freight would be down 16 percent on last year. (Reporting by Pete Harrison; Editing by Dale Hudson)