Pharma drives cargo handled at Vienna Airport up 17% in H12024

The positive growth trend in airfreight at Vienna Airport seen since the start of this year continued in the second quarter of 2024.

Vienna Airport handled 141,118 tonnes of air cargo between January and the end of June, a year-on-year growth of 20,861 tonnes or 17 percent, says an official release. "This level is also four percent higher than pre-pandemic levels."

Pharma handling continued to rise with 1,825 tonnes or 8.2 percent more handled at the airport in the first half of the year. "Cargo volumes also continued to increase in July 2024: with 24,808 tonnes of air freight, the airport recorded an increase of 21.1 percent compared to the previous year."

The positive development is underpinned by the growth in passenger traffic, which is creating additional capacity for belly freight, the release added. "The tonnage of belly freight soared by 47 percent to 57,594 tonnes in the first half of the year 2024 compared to the same period last year. By contrast, volumes carried by freighter aircraft fell by eight percent to 41,142 tons amidst a growth in capacity, the shift to passenger aircraft and one-off effects in the previous year. The increased volume of trucked air freight contributed to the strong half-year performance, with a 17 percent growth to 42,382 tonnes."

Around 78,029 tonnes of air freight arrived at Vienna Airport for distribution to Austria and neighbouring markets in Central and Eastern Europe. This was 11,004 tonnes or 16 percent more than in the first half of 2023. "In the opposite direction, goods with a total weight of 63,089 tonnes landed at destinations all over the world via the Vienna air freight hub. This figure was 9,857 tonnes or 19 percent more than in the same stretch in 2023.

Julian Jäger, Joint CEO and COO, Vienna Airport says: "Cargo volumes are developing extremely well. In July 2024, air cargo volumes were already higher than in 2019, the year before the coronavirus pandemic. This shows that our strategy is working. We are focusing on innovative logistics solutions, first-class infrastructure and the highest handling quality. This positive development strengthens our location and underscores our importance as a central hub for global airfreight."

Michael Zach, Senior Vice President, Ground Handling & Cargo Operations, Flughafen Wien adds: “We seamlessly continued the positive development that we have seen since the beginning of the year during the second quarter. Demand remains robust, particularly on routes to North America and Asia. Vienna Airport offers outstanding conditions for handling growing cargo volumes quickly and reliably. The handling services provided by our pharma handling centre are also more sought-after and are well equipped for further growth."