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Liege, Munich airports post cargo surges with Munich growth topping Fraport

LEIGE and Munich airport posted sizeable increases in air cargo volumes for 2015 versus prior year.

Belgium's Liege handled nearly 650,000 tonnes in 2015, a 10 per cent surge over 2014. Airport manager Luc Partoune, said: "The new airlines - Qatar Airways and ANA Aviation - have boosted our activity. And TNT has also shown very strong growth. CAL, El Al and Icelandair are also on the up."

Belgium's number two cargo airport by volumes, Brussels, also performed well in 2015, with full year freight volumes up by 7.8 per cent to just over 489,000 tonnes.

In its outlook for 2016, a spokesman for Liege said: 〃There are encouraging prospects for 2016 as regards passenger traffic with connections between China and Liege doubling, from three to six flights a week."

The investment programme of Liege Airport for 2016 amounts to EUR10 million (US$10.8 million), with plans including the construction of a new business aviation area.

The project also involves the creation of aircraft stands in the north, continuation of energy-saving investment with moves towards tri-generation, etc.

Investment in the Liege Airport Business Park will rise to EUR6 million new freight hall in the northern zone, a storage facility, etc. he said.

"The building serving as a reception centre for horses will be operational early June and will therefore be used to send the best horses in the world to the Olympic Games in Rio."

Germany's southern cargo hub, Munich, reported that its growth in air cargo was up by about nine per cent to a new record level of 317,000 tonnes.

In a prior results interview with London's Air Cargo News, Munich cargo chief Markus Heinelt said: "This area has 43 per cent of all German air cargo, and at present only 35 per cent of it goes via Munich. But four years ago we handled only 29 per cent, so we are getting more and more of the cake.

Munich has outperformed fellow German gateway, Frankfurt Airport (FRA), Europe's number one cargo hub by volumes, which saw its 2015 full year air freight and air mail throughput fall by 2.3 per cent to 2.1 million tonnes.