Schiphol only European airport to show growth
November 4, 2011
Air cargo volumes handled at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport remain ahead of its 2010 throughput, despite a disappointing September.
Europe’s third busiest cargo airport said September’s 123,284 tonnes - 6% down on last year – resulted from falls in traffic to and from Asia (-15.8%), the Middle East (-6.3%) and Latin America (-4.7%).
However, this was partially offset by increased traffic to and from North America (up 7.4%) Africa (+6.6%) and Europe (+3.9%).
Overall cargo tonnage handled at the airport between January and September was 1.13 million tonnes - up 2.3% compared with the same period in 2010.
Schiphol outperformed 2010 in five out of the nine months so far this year.
The airport also remains the only one of the top three European air cargo gateways to show any year-on-year growth.
Schiphol Cargo Senior VP Enno Osinga said: “It’s clear that economic worries in the US and Eurozone are feeding down to cargo traffic, particularly to and from the Far East.
“Although other markets are still looking robust, they cannot make up for these shortfalls.”
He added: “What began as a very positive 2011 is now proving very challenging for the industry, and the last three months are not likely to reverse the recent downward trend.”
