Major European air cargo hubs saw their cargo volumes regain ground last year as passenger services continued to ramp up following the pandemic and on the back of a bumper year for the cargo market in general.
One of the fastest growers in Europe last year was Belgian cargo hub Liege which reported a 15.6% year-on-year increase in cargo demand to 1.2m tonnes - it’s second busiest year on record.
The figures represent a return to growth for the airport after cargo volumes declined by 11.8% to 1m tonnes in 2023 due to weak cargo market and passenger hubs regaining share from freighter specialists.
The airport highlighted that during the year it had added new cargo airline customers, while more logistics companies had opened operations around the airport.
Chief executive Laurent Jossart said that the new freighter airline customers had boosted cargo volumes but also helped diversify its customer base.
“Over the past few years, we have succeeded in increasing both the number of cargo airlines operating with us (from 40 at the end of 2023 to 48 at the end of 2024), and the number of logistics providers on site (from 37 at the end of 2023 to 57 at the end of 2024), demonstrating the attractiveness of our airport and the quality of the services and logistics solutions provided by the entire LGG cargo community.
“By diversifying our partnerships, we are less dependent on two or three dominant customers.”
Jossart said that in 2014, the top five airlines accounted for 90% of cargo volumes, whereas in 2024, they represented 58% of tonnage. And the top three, which carried 79% of airfreight in 2014, now account for 43% of the total.
Meanwhile, the UK’s number one air cargo hub, Heathrow Airport, saw its cargo volumes increase by 10.4% compared with 2023 to 1.6m tonnes.
The airport, which has plans to redevelop its cargo areas, would have benefited from the improved cargo market - fuelled by e-commerce and modal shift from ocean to air - as well as the continued return of passenger operations following the Covid pandemic.
It is the second year of cargo growth at the UK airport after it posted a 2.2% improvement in 2023.
The Netherlands’ leading cargo hub, Schiphol, also had a strong year in terms of cargo volumes. Cargo throughput increased by 8% year on year in 2024 to 1.5m tonnes, despite a 2% decrease in the number of cargo flights to 15,661.
The airport also pointed out that the amount of cargo handled was 10% more than in pre-Covid 2019. This comes as the airport is facing cuts to the number of flights it can handle on noise grounds.
The figures are a return to growth for the Dutch hub after it reported a 4.2% decline in 2023.
