Amsterdam Airport Schiphol ended 2016 with a record total flown cargo throughput of 1.66 million tonnes, up 2.5% on 2015.
Published on: 22 February 2017
'We are happy to say that the commitment to quality initiatives supporting the pharmaceutical, e-Commerce, and perishables market is showing positive results', said Cargo Director Jonas van Stekelenburg.
There has been a strong end to the year, with December figures up 10.4% on the same month in 2015 at 149,000 tonnes. 'We had a strong start to 2016 due to several new carriers making use of Schiphol, and expansion by existing players, and there was an increase in traffic levels in the second half of the year resulting in a total tonnage that surpassed our expectations – an all-time record of 1.66 million tonnes of cargo.'
Results in the different market regions
For 2016 as a whole, Asia remains Schiphol's largest market, with Shanghai, China, the busiest destination, and new direct flights launched to Xi’an and Ningbo, both in China.
The best growth in tonnage was Europe (+74%) and this was due to cargo transiting to and from Asia.Other growing markets were Africa inbound (+2%), Middle East up 5% and Latin America up 11%.Exports from North America were down 1%, whilst North America import volume was up 2%.
Looking ahead
'The outlook for 2017 – as we see even more air traffic growth – is positive; we are very encouraged by last year's results,' said van Stekelenburg. 'Close collaboration with our Cargo Community remains a strong focus for 2017. Together with our Community we will continue to pursue ambitions such as better digital information exchange and further quality improvements in the supply chain, particularly for pharma, e-commerce and perishables.'