Benelux Building Capacity Through Infrastructure Additions

The Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) region has witnessed infrastructure growth, adding sheen to its traditional image as the main logistics gateway to Europe. Even as global cues suggest a slowdown, the air cargo community in the region remains optimistic of growth.

- Blessy Chettiar

The gloomy skies for the aviation industry have overstayed their welcome. The falling numbers have lasted longer than desirable with no cheer in sight.

Global cues, falling numbers

According to the data – worldwide airwaybill inputs – made available to WorldACd from 80 airlines, demand for air freight, measured in Freight Tonne Kilometres (FTKs), recorded a year-on-year (YoY) decrease of 5.4 percent in September. The cargo load factor dropped by 3.6 percentage-points YoY, but it increased by 2.3 percentage-points month-on-month (MoM). The last month with positive growth was October 2018, which is more than a whole year ago.

Mainport for the Netherlands, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) released mid-year figures in September, announcing that total cargo volume decreased by 9.2 per cent to 767,519 tonnes, compared with 2018, but total belly cargo volume increased by 0.9 per cent.

Bart Pouwels, head of cargo, AMS, expressed concern over the "negative developments within the air cargo market and the consequences it has for the overall network of our airlines at Schiphol."

“With a decrease of full freighters, we may become less attractive for freight forwarders, as the forwarders need a mix of full freight and belly cargo to operate sustainably. This may result in forwarders leaving Schiphol and the airport becoming less attractive for airlines as belly cargo contributes significantly to certain routes. We are keen to maintain our network of destinations for which we need to keep our cargo volumes at a sustainable level,” Pouwels said in a statement.