ACI Europe has reported freight declined by 2.1 per cent at European Union (EU) airports in November but non-EU airports saw cargo traffic increase by 3.6 per cent taking the monthly figure to a fall of 1.4 per cent – the first monthly fall in three years.
The European airport trade association said amongs the top 10 European airports for freight traffic, only Liège (+17.9 per cent) Madrid (+ eight per cent) and Istanbul-Atatürk (+6.9 per cent) saw volumes increasing.
All others posted declines – Frankfurt (-1.7 per cent), Paris-CDG (-5 per cent), Amsterdam-Schiphol (-0.8 per cent), London-Heathrow (-10.4 per cent), Luxembourg (-3.1 per cent), Koln-Bonn (-0.7 per cent) and Milan-Malpensa (-2.8 per cent).
Director general, Olivier Jankovec (pictured above) said: “These figures show that on the passenger side, demand for air transport keeps defying an increasingly challenging geopolitical and economic environment. But the party could be ending soon.
“We are facing a Eurozone close to stagnation with business confidence now at a 4-year low, coupled with global growth losing momentum in a synchronised way and a slowdown in trade. While all of this is only taking its toll on freight traffic for now, there is no doubt that passenger demand levels are going to feel the effects at some point.”
He added “For EU airports, a no-deal Brexit is the most immediate risk. We are faced with the prospect of a capacity freeze on all UK-EU27 air routes, the modalities of which still need to be defined.
“If confirmed, UK airports would of course be the hardest hit, but many airports across the EU27 would also suffer – especially in Ireland and Spain, as well as smaller regional airports elsewhere that depend on UK traffic.”
