AIRPORTS across Europe saw freight traffic dropped by 2
AIRPORTS across Europe saw freight traffic dropped by 2.2 per cent as the lights went out on 2018. December's decrease followed on from the 1.4 per cent decline registered in November, according to figures from Airports Council International (ACI) that show cargo volumes rose by 1.8 per cent for the year as a whole. The deceleration primarily impacted European Union airports which reported growth of 1.1 per cent for the year or less, while non-EU airports recorded an increase of 5.6 per cent.
Among the top 10 European airports for freight, only Liege, Istanbul-Atatuerk, Cologne-Bonn and Brussels recorded growth in December, reported London's Air Cargo News.
Looking at the continent's top cargo airports, Frankfurt registered a drop of 1.1 per cent for the year to 2.1 million tonnes, at Paris CDG there was a 1.3 per cent decline to two million tonnes and slot constrained Amsterdam Schiphol noted a 2.6 per cent slide to 1.7 million tonnes.
ACI Europe director general Olivier Jankovec said: 'The trend of decreasing freight traffic is hard to ignore. It reflects weakening economic data and contraction forces at play, not just in Europe but around the world.
'Adding to that volatile oil prices, labour cost pressures and more consolidation should also lead airlines to be more cautious with capacity expansion.
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