Freight at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol grew 15.7% in 2021 over 2020 to 1.66 million tonnes. Inbound cargo was u 15.2% to 869,241 tonnes in 2021 while outbound increased by 16.1% to 798,063 tonnes.

The top three destinations for cargo by tonnage were Shanghai, Chicago and Dubai.

Full freighters accounted for 67% of total freight and passenger flights 33%.

The airport attributed the growth to the return of sufficient slot availability, as well as high demand. Late 2021 saw some difficulties with operational capacity owing to the high demand and capacity challenges experienced by the global air freight sector at large, but Schiphol quickly set up a taskforce with its supply chain partners at Schiphol Zuidoost.

Head of Aviation Business Development, Anne Marie van Hemert (pictured), said: “The 2021 figures are encouraging in light of the ongoing challenges of Covid on the operating environment. Last year, the cargo team formed a new Aviation Business Development Division, putting all airline and cargo commercial and operational business in a single department and introducing new faces.

“The newly established team has focused on accelerating our Smart Cargo Mainport Program and ensuring faster handling of export cargo, resulting in digital pre-notification for all ground handlers at Schiphol as the new standard.

For the future, Schiphol is promising a refreshed cargo strategy to tackle challenges including capacity shortage, landside congestion, sustainability, security for valuable cargo, enforcement of smart customs policies and digitalisation.

The airport has furthermore worked with stakeholders and partners on the development of the local rule 2, which states that slots that are given back or re-delivered will be prioritised for cargo flights. Approval for this is being sought from the ministry and ACNL, and the work is hoped to be finalized this year.

((Pic – van Hemert))