FEATURE CARGO AIRPORTS EUROPE TOP 20 A
ccording to the air cargo traffic statistics released by Airports Council International (ACI), all
of the 20 biggest air cargo gateways in Europe saw their freight traffic rise year- on-year during 2010 – many of them very impressively – but the situation had cooled considerably by the time the second half of 2011 had begun. Last year was a struggle for many of
the main European air freight portals. The global economic crisis and decline in demand in the West for consumer goods had a major effect on cargo traffic and airports suffered as a result. The impact was most noticeable in the second half of the year, with 2011 having started quite promisingly for many of the gateways. As well as a global meltdown on the
financial markets hitting consumer confidence and spending, the Japanese earthquake and subsequent tsunami had their own knock-on effect on the air freight market, while a number of gateways – Frankfurt-Main in particular – had to grapple with challenges peculiar to them. Nevertheless, air freight traffic
through many of Europe’s logistics portals continued to flow freely, with Germany’s airports leading the way. The country’s economy remained strong, more than can be said for many others on the Continent – indeed, some of these, such as Greece’s went into virtual
EUROPEAN CARGO AIRPORTS
It has been a roller coaster ride for many of Europe’s busiest freight airports over the last few years. Hit by the downturn in 2008-09, many once again enjoyed a very good year in 2010 – but then the last six months of 2011 brought uncertainty
meltdown. Their supply chains suffered significantly as a result. The overall effect across Europe’s
airports was a year-on-year improvement during 2011 of only 1.4 percent in freight traffic, according to ACI Europe statistics. That figure would have dropped to just 0.6 percent, however, had it not been for 2010’s figures being adversely affected by both the Icelandic volcanic ash crisis and harsh winter weather. But while patterns of improvement
and decline can be identified across Europe, each of the Continent’s airports has its own story to tell.
The race for the top spot Paris Charles de Gaulle (CdG) and Frankfurt-Main airports compete with each other for the title of Europe’s busiest gateway in terms of air freight volumes handled – but France’s biggest airport has yet to reveal its official traffic figures for last year. Unconfirmed reports say this may have been 2,087,952 tonnes of cargo and 212,112 tonnes of mail in 2011 – a total of 2,300,064 tonnes and a result that would position it in the number one spot. Whatever its 2011 ranking, further
investment to upgrade the freight facilities at CdG is currently under way. A recent development, for example, is seeing DB Schenker expand its operational area at the airport by 50
percent. Come 2022, Schenker expects to occupy 22,000m2
of prime space and
the entire GB2 freight terminal. Germany’s Frankfurt-Main airport had
a difficult 2011 and this year has not started much better. The gateway handled a total of more than 2.1 million tonnes during the course of 2011, but this result was down on 2010. And while it should be noted that
2010 was a bumper year for cargo volumes at Frankfurt-Main, traffic last year was also hit by a night-flight ban imposed by a German court in the autumn, ruling out freighter flights during non-daylight hours. Then, following the opening of a fourth runway at the end of October, large numbers of protestors began complaining of excessive noise. Stefan Schulte, executive board
chairman of airport operator Fraport, nevertheless remains positive, commenting: “The inauguration of Frankfurt’s new runway had a very positive effect on traffic development and showed how important this capacity investment is for the positive further development of this hub.”
Million-tonne gateways The third of the big four European cargo gateways – those that handled more than a million tonnes of cargo last year – was Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. It had a relatively successful 2011, boosting its
54 AIR LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT
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