Photo: Fraport Group
Freight volumes at European airports were stable in the first half of the year, although performance varied across gateways.
The latest figures from Airports Council International (ACI) Europe show that over the first six months of the year, cargo volumes increased by 0.6% compared with last year.
When compared with pre-pandemic levels, cargo volumes are up by more than 10.4%.
Looking at individual airport performance, Europe’s largest cargo hub, Frankfurt, managed to increase its cargo volumes by 1% year on year to 968,427 tonnes over the first-half of the year.
Second-placed Istanbul registered a 4.9% decline in cargo volumes to 941,613 tonnes, while third-placed Heathrow was up 2.3% on last year.
The best results compared to last year came from Liege (10.2%), Madrid (8.9%) and Cologne (3.5%).
Liege said its above-market growth stemmed from the addition of new airlines and logistics companies adding facilities at its logistics park.
Laurent Jossart, chief executive of Liege Airport, said: “Our portfolio of airlines (over 40) and logistics providers (over 50) is growing, with the arrival of Hong Kong Air Cargo, My Freighter Airlines, Beijing Capital Airlines, Ninatrans, Fracht Group, etc., enabling us to diversify our markets. The outlook for the rest of the year is equally positive.”
However, European airport cargo volumes for the month of June showed a weaker performance. Overall, freight volumes at European airports for the month declined by 8.4%.
In the second quarter, freight volumes improved by 0.1% year on year.
