While European inbound traffic fell 8% and outbound fell 2% per cent, North America inbound cargo fell 12% and 5%, respectively. The drop in Middle Eastern traffic was recorded at 1% inbound and 15% outbound. Full freighter volumes overall were down 2.4% with 7.4% fewer full freight air traffic movements (ATMs) and belly cargo volumes showing a 1.6% drop compared with first quarter 2017.
Meanwhile, China, the airport’s largest country market, showed an increase of 2.1% from January to March 2018, boosted by increased volumes from both freighter and belly cargo flights. Trade with Asia remained relatively stable overall, with a 4% decrease in inbound cargo but a 1% increase in outbound cargo.
Latin American cargo trade increased strongly, up 10% inbound at 34,097 tonnes and up 31% outbound at 20,701 tonnes. Cargo from the continent was boosted by increased flower imports for Valentine’s Day and International Women’s Day. African flower exports, meanwhile, boosted outbound cargo, which increased by 7%. Inbound cargo, however, recorded a drop of 5%.
“Although we saw an increase in Air Traffic Movements (ATMs) and, as a result, increased volumes of belly cargo at Schiphol, this did not result in a commensurate increase in freight volumes and did not compensate for the reduction in full freighter ATMs,” said Maaike van der Windt, Director Aviation Marketing, Cargo and Customer Experience, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.
“This has had a knock-on effect in our first quarter results, but there are nonetheless underlying positive growth trends in cargo business from China and Latin America that we hope to build upon over the coming year,” she added.
