Hong Kong - The chief executive of Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, Hong Kong's biggest airline, said Tuesday he believed the worst of the global economic slump was over.

In a message to staff through the airline's monthly newsletter, Tony Tyler said he was encouraged to see a surge in cargo demand and said: "It does seem the worst is over."

"We're also seeing yields edge up on the passenger side, though the increases here are hampered by the fact that premium travellers are staying away in droves."

He cautioned that the recovery from a downturn that saw the airline record its first quarterly loss in five years would not be rapid but would instead be a "long, gruelling crawl."

Tyler has been one of the aviation industry's leading prophets of doom over the past 18 months, warning since October last year of a prolonged and painful slump for the global aviation industry.

Cathay Pacific announced a voluntary unpaid leave scheme in early 2009 after warning that high fuel prices and falling yields had forced it to cut costs.

The airline is one of the world's biggest and carries around 23 million passengers and 1.6 million tons of cargo each year. It employs more than 27,000 people worldwide. (dpa)