Top 50 Cargo Airports: Small dips before the 2020 drop

An overview of airport cargo throughput for 2019 already feels like a retrospective from much further in the past. That year provided some small bumps and drops, with monthly reports of slight declines from the stronger performance of previous years, and mounting trade tensions seemed the most serious threat looming for the industry. The roller coaster of 2020 has since taken the industry, and the world, for a ride that we hope ends soon. As with Air Cargo World ’s recent ranking of the Freight 50 a few months ago, this year’s ranking of the world’s top 50 cargo airports based on 2019 volumes is likely less predictive of the current year’s performance than usual. However, it is possible to identify some trends that were already impacting the market in 2019 and have strengthened due to the coronavirus pandemic. The past two years, while difficult for aviation, have still provided some highs as well as lows. If e-commerce was a major industry driver before, a review of 2019 and initial 2020 data shows its importance has become more pronounced than ever. Some airports have used the changing market environment to climb the rankings, while others are working to adapt to new routings and economic dynamics. A huge increase in cargo charters during the peak surge in demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) and the spike in airfreight rates out of China suggest past strong performers like Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG) and Incheon International Airport (ICN) could soar past the competition. However, the lightweight PPE shipments are likely to keep volumes lower than for typical airfreight commodities. HKG holds its position Unsurprisingly, Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) held to its long-time No. 1 spot in 2019. However, the effects of protests in Hong Kong and global trade conflicts were seen in a year-over-year decline of 6% in cargo volumes to 4.8 million tonnes — placing HKG back below 5 million tonnes — its lowest throughput since 2016. Most of the top 10 cargo airports saw total cargo throughput fall in 2019, with the exceptions of the UPS hub of Louisville (SDF), which increased 6% YoY to climb three spots in the ranking to No. 4, and Qatar Airways Cargo’s Doha (DOH) hub, where throughput rose by a slight 1% to push the airport up by three places to No. 8. Elsewhere on the list, throughput at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport (ISL) declined by more than 43%. The drop in cargo operations there is related more to the opening of the new Istanbul Airport (IST) than to a major decline in Istanbul cargo throughput; Turkish Airlines, based in Istanbul, reported an increase of 15.3% in its cargo traffic for 2019. The carrier transferred a majority of its operations to the new IST in 2019, but has continued freighter operations at its former Ataturk hub through 2020, according to flight-tracking software. Revisiting 2019 results is a firm reminder that the year was less than generous to air cargo. However, given the complete upheaval of 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, how similar might 2020 airport throughput be to 2019 levels? A look at data available so far from some of the top performers across the regions shows the underlying geographic strength of some major hubs, as well as how some fast-growing cargo types will likely bolster some regions in the years ahead. View the complete ranking of Top 50 Cargo Airports based on 2019 throughput. To learn more about how the regional leaders among the Top 50 Cargo Airports are faring so far in 2020, read the full feature in the September/October 2020 digital issue of Air Cargo World .

Top 50 Cargo Airports: Small dips before the 2020 drop

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