Airports across Europe saw freight volumes increase by 2.1 per cent in the first half of 2016, with European Union (EU) hubs making up for non-EU ones struggling, Airports Council International (ACI) Europe says.
EU airports saw growth of 3.2 per cent in the first half of 2016 but non-EU hubs were down 3.9 per cent, seeing a particularly dramatic drop of 13.5 per cent in June. Across Europe as a whole, freight volumes were up 1.7 per cent year-on-year in June.
Airports in Turkey were among the non-EU hubs suffering significant falls in June, with Istanbul Ataturk dropping 50.5 per cent to 36,026 tonnes, while Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen was also down seven per cent to 3,825 tonnes. In the first half, Ataturk saw a 13.6 per cent fall to 335,170 tonnes while Sabiha Gokcen was up 22.4 per cent to 28,847 tonnes.
Europe’s top four airports all saw growth in June, with Frankfurt Airport seeing a 2.9 per cent increase to 169,487 tonnes, followed by Paris Charles de Gaulle rising 1.4 per cent to 161,419 tonnes. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol’s volumes were up 2.5 per cent in June to 135,528 tonnes and London’s Heathrow Airport expanded 2.1 per cent to 125,536 tonnes.
In the first half, Frankfurt was up 0.2 per cent to 983,845 tonnes, and Paris increased by 5.2 per cent to 967,560 tonnes. Amsterdam saw 1.6 per cent growth to 796,801 tonnes and London was up 1.7 per cent to 754,597 tonnes.
