June cargo boost for Heathrow

London’s Heathrow Airport saw cargo volumes dip 1.9% in June to just under 123,000 tonnes, but airfreight volumes at the UK hub were up by 2.1% for the first six months of 2015.

Heathrow – which awaits a UK government decision to green light to build a third runway  – has recorded cargo growth of 4.3% over the past 12 months.

The rolling 12 month volume boost at Heathrow includes increases of 44% to Mexico, 24.4% to Turkey, 19.7% to Brazil, 11.5% to India, 6.9% to North America and 2.8% to China. Tonnage figures were not supplied.

Heathrow appears to be performing better than its larger cargo hub rivals in Europe. The region’s top cargo hub, Frankfurt in Germany, recorded a 2.5% fall in freight volumes for June, to 174,000 tonnes, while overall volumes for the first half of 2015 were down by 2.1%.

Number two Euro cargo hub, Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, has so far released figures up to April only, which indicate a 4.2% decline in freight tonnes.

Number three European hub, Amsterdam Schiphol, has recorded a 2.2% fall in cargo tonnages during the first five months of this year.

Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: “On the first of July, the Airports Commission ended the debate on where a new runway should be built by unanimously recommending Heathrow’s new expansion plan.
"It’s now a binary choice for the British Government. We either expand Heathrow – creating jobs, growth, a rebalanced economy and lucrative export routes – or we do nothing and retreat as a nation. The answer is obvious, so let’s get on with it.”