European airport cargo volume declines 1.8% in the first quarter of 2019

Cargo volume at European airports declined by 1.8% in the first quarter of 2019, although Liege, Belgium’s cargo friendly hub, surged 12.5%.

The latest report from the European Airport Trade Organization ACI Europe stated: "The decline in cargo volume in the first quarter was entirely attributable to the EU market (-2.6%), as the volume of cargo at non-EU airports remained positive (+1.8%).

However, the freight volume in Europe improved slightly in March compared to the previous months (-0.2%), and the freight volume in non-EU (+3.3%) and EU (-1.2%) both improved.

Of the top ten cargo airports in Europe, only four reported positive results for the first quarter: Liege (12.5%), Istanbul-Ataturk (6.6%), Madrid-Barajas (5.7%) and Kazan Mountain (3.8%).

In Frankfurt, Germany, cargo throughput (air transport + air mail) fell by 6% to 178,342 tons in April, and fell by 3.3% to 705,000 tons from January to April.

A spokesman for the largest cargo airport in Europe blamed the decline in April’s cargo volume on “weak global trade and postponement of the Easter holiday”.

Before the disappointing decline in April, Frankfurt grew 0.5% year-on-year in March to 198,700 tons. Frankfurt achieved freight growth for the first time in 2019.

Cargo volume at London Heathrow Airport fell 5.9% year-on-year in April to 138.93 million tons. Cargo volume in the first four months of 2019 fell 3% year-on-year to 541,000 tons.

Other major cargo airports in Europe will release throughput statistics for April in the next few days.