Bellyache for Munich as freighter volumes soar

An 11.3% increase in 2018 freighter volumes at Munich airport in 2018 failed overcome a fall in bellyhold cargo.

The southern Germany gateway saw total throughput decline 3.4% year on year to 375,000 tonnes for airfreight, mail and transit cargo.

The arrival of Russian all-cargo airline AirBridgeCargo boosted total freighter volumes to around 58,000 tonnes for the year, although bellyhold recorded a two percentage point decline versus 2017 to 84% of airfreight volumes.

The latest annual report from Munich airport said that a 3.1% decline in transhipped airfreight during 2018 to 351,500 tonnes reflected a “slight economic slowdown” and reduced bellyhold capacity on long haul passenger aircraft.

The figures were made available in Munich Airport’s latest integrated report, entitled “Shaping the Future”.

On the decline in bellyhold cargo, the report stated: “This is because some of the new long-haul aircraft operating in Munich have a smaller load capacity than the predecessor models.

“This includes, for example, the A380, which while it takes a great deal more passengers than the A340, has a smaller freight capacity. Technical load restrictions in the B787 also led to a temporarily reduced offering of freight volume.

“On the other hand, the quantity transported on purely freight flights increased considerably, due to the additional AirBridgeCargo connections, by around 11.3% to some 58,000 tonnes.”

The report added: “Overall, the airfreight volumes in Munich in 2018 were on a par with the level for the previous year, because airfreight is also transported by truck from Munich to other locations and flown on further from there. The share of this trucked airfreight increased significantly.”