Düsseldorf air cargo up in Q1

CARGO volumes at Düsseldorf Airport climbed five per cent to about 37,000 tonnes in the first quarter of this year.

The upward trend continued in April, with tonnage increasing by 14.6 per cent year-on-year, mainly driven by the inauguration of summer flight schedules, notes Thomas Schürmann, the airport’s marketing and sales manager.

“The biggest advantage of Düsseldorf Airport in terms of cargo is the catchment area around the airport. More than 18 million inhabitants in a radius of 100 kilometres represent a huge import market for food, perishables, consumables and electronics,” he says.

“At the same time, this region is producing approximately 20 per cent of all German exports, of which a major share is traditional airfreight business such as, machinery, components, spare-parts and automotive supplies.”

Gerton Hulsman, managing director of Düsseldorf Airport’s cargo division, enthuses: “Although currently there is no regular freighter traffic at Düsseldorf Airport, cargo development is looking definitely positive. This is because all the cargo we handle is passenger belly-hold, or trucked to other major gateways such as Frankfurt or Amsterdam.”

New routes, increasing frequencies and larger aircraft, with greater (belly-hold) available capacity have contributed to this growth, according to Hulsman.

“The development at Düsseldorf is in step with the general industry trend, that sees more and more air cargo shifting from main deck to lower deck, thanks to the latest [passenger] aircraft models offering huge capacity,” he adds.