Schiphol takes the honours in Europe

The airport section of the Air Cargo Excellence Awards is based on the voting of airlines on a number of specific criteria.

Schiphol's 2014 winning score of 113 marked a further significant improvement in its recent trend; in 2012 it scored 103 points, and in 2013 it achieved 106 points. Schiphol also attained the highest rating in each of the categories, namely customer service, value, facilities and information technology, which together combine to decide the overall results.

Separately, cargo tonnages through Schiphol showed consistent growth throughout the first quarter of 2014, ending with a total of 392,990 tonnes, which represented an increase of 7.3% on the same period in 2013. The first quarter of 2014 was also the second best in over three years, beaten only by the final (peak) quarter of 2013.

Regional rankings, though, remained unchanged from 2013: Asia retained top place, with a total of 142,256 tonnes (up 7% on the first quarter of 2013); but its share of the total fell slightly, at 36.7%. This was down from 39.3% for 2013 as a whole.

North America showed stronger growth, up 13.2% on the same period of 2013, to a total of 69,868 tonnes: this was a 17.8% share of the total, compared to 16.6% in 2013. The Middle East was also up (by 14%) in the first quarter; Africa grew by 1.6% and Europe also rose 10.9%. Only Latin America fell back, dropping 6.1% on the period.

Imports for the first quarter accounted for 51.01% of the total (up from 50.58% throughout 2013), while exports represented 48.99% of all traffic (down from 49.42%). Freighter movements, meanwhile, grew by 6.6% in the first quarter, reaching a total of 4,029.

The Award winners were announced at a ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles, where senior representatives of the global air cargo community were gathered for this year's IATA World Cargo Symposium.