Maindeck outpaces belly at Brussels and Munich

OCT 12, 2015: European cargo airports Brussels and Munich have reported a rise in freighter-only volumes versus passenger bellyhold.

Belgian hub Brussels, the ninth largest European cargo airport by volume in 2014, saw September’s airfreight traffic rise by 1.6 percent but highlighted “two opposing trends”.

It stated, “The same as most other European airports, belly transport at Brussels Airport, i.e. the cargo traffic carried on board of passenger aircraft, saw an 8.9 percent fall by comparison with September 2014.

“For the full-cargo segment, we are seeing a sharp 8.2 percent rise year-on-year. This sees Brussels Airport as an exception to the general downward trend of air cargo traffic in Europe.”

Around half of this cargo growth at Brussels is due to the volumes of Ethiopian Airlines, which in January returned to the airport with four B777 freighters per week to Addis Ababa.

Added Brussels, “Recording a 5.5 percent rise, integrator traffic (DHL) is continuing the growth it has seen in the last two years.”

Munich, in southern Germany, said that cargo growth for the first nine months of 2015 was “even more robust” than a comparable four percent rise in passenger numbers.

Munich Airport, the 15th largest European freight hub by volumes last year, said that between January to September 2015 its cargo turnover totaled around 236,000 tonnes.

This represents a 10 percent gain over like period 2014 and also marks a new record for the airport.

Said Munich, “A major factor behind the strong gains is the increased use of cargo aircraft. As a result, the share of the total tonnage carried freight-only rose by nearly one third to approximately 41,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, co-loaded freight transported on passenger flights [bellyhold] increased by about six percent to 195,000 tonnes.”

In view of the strong traffic growth in the first three quarters, Munich Airport expects to set a new full-year record for cargo as well as an all-time high of more than 41m for total passengers.