Schiphol has year's best cargo quarter, but still off 1.8pc from 2011

AMSTERDAM Airport Schiphol says its cargo throughput between July and September has improved to produce the best quarterly results so far this year, with a total of 373,988 tonnes handled, but the result was still down 1.8 per cent year on year.

Quarterly exports surpassed imports for the first time since the first quarter of 2011. This was influenced by strong exports to Asia, North America, Africa and Latin America in July, a statement from port officials said.

Cargo for the January-September period was 2.7 per cent down on 2011, at 1,103,162 tonnes, reducing the year-to-date shortfall from 3.3 per cent in August. The figure was helped by September's two per cent growth.

Said Schiphol cargo vice president Enno Osinga: "Considering all the ongoing problems in Europe and the USA at present, we are very satisfied with these figures, which could have been very much worse."