Page 24 - STAT-November-2023-for-Magzter

regionalreport
INNOVATE & INVEST

THE WAY FORWARD

Despite challenging
conditions leading to lower
cargo throughputs, Benelux
region’s top cargo airports are
investing in innovations and
partnerships to elevate growth
in cargo business.

or the month of September 2023
Brussels Airport (BRU) reported 14
percent decline in cargo volume
Fcompared to the same month
in the previous year. This was largely be-
cause of the 24 percent decline in volume
carried in full freighters. The number of
cargo flights decreased by 8 percent. On
the other hand there was an increase of 7
percent in belly cargo volume because of
the rapidly increasing passenger flights.
For Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS), Europe’s
fourth largest cargo airport, based on cargo
volume handled, the decline in tonnage for
the month of September was modest. Ac-
A rendering of the €200 million in investment dnata Cargo City at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol,
cording to Schiphol, it “outperformed” most which is scheduled to become operational in 2024
of its peers in what is a subdued air cargo
market. Tonnage was down 3.4 percent passengers and cargo. The agreement, providing a swift and smooth feed into a
compared with the same month in 2022. signed between the Royal Schiphol Group dense European logistics network, man-
This was largely because of weak North and the province of Limburg, will see the aged by Challenge Group as a single point
American imports and exports and a mixed province maintain keep a 60% stake in MAA. of contact for its customers.
performance on key Far East tradelanes. The collaboration will also focus on cargo “With the injection of the B767 freighter
Like its Belgium counterpart in Brussels, handling and innovations in that area. into our fleet, we have greater capacity and
the Dutch airport also had reduction in Other key developments in the Benelux flexibility to meet the growing e-commerce
freighter flights causing decline in volume region include Israel-based all cargo carrier demand out of Hong Kong,” illustrates Or
carried in freighters. Schiphol’s freighter Challenge Group scaling up its freighter Zak, CCO of Challenge Group. “We recently
movements were down 12 percent year operations connecting Hong Long with increased our frequencies and will soon
on year. This was caused by a more than 3 Liege carrying cross border ecommerce offer a daily service, deploying a combined
percent reduction in slots imposed by the cargo. Challenge Group is promising to B747 and B767 capacity, to best support our
Dutch government as part of its sustain- fill a gap in ecommerce deliveries with regular customers in meeting their new de-
ability agenda. speed and reliability. One of the world’s livery commitments. This means that items
Earlier this year Royal Schiphol Group main e-commerce gateways is Hong Kong. can be shipped on their day of purchase or
closed a deal with Maastricht Aachen Over in the center of the golden triangle of at the latest, the following day.”
Airport (MAA) to take a 40 percent stake in Europe, lies Liège Airport, also specialized Those ancillary services, tailored specifi-
MAA with a commitment to further devel- in e-commerce and home to Challenge cally to meet the diverse needs of Chal-
oping MAA into a sustainable, environment- Group’s main hub. Daily freighter services lenge Group’s clients, include sorting of
conscious and future-proof airport for both from Challenge Group will link the two, goods, customs clearance, consolidation
22 | NOVEMBER 2023 www.stattimes.com