Schiphol Cargo growth continues in first half

Overall cargo tonnage handled through the airport was 753,073 tonnes  - up 5.2% compared to the same period of 2010.

Schiphol has outperformed 2010 in four out of six months so far this year. The most notable increase was 19%, in April - although this was largely the effect of a weak April 2010 performance, due to the closure of European airspace during the Icelandic volcanic ash clouds.

A regional analysis of the half year figures reveals a fall of 6.2% in traffic to and from Asia, due to the impact of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in March. This has been counteracted by growth in most other regions – particularly Middle East cargo (+22.4%) and North America traffic (+17.9%). European traffic also shows 61.5% growth year on year, although this figure has been heavily influenced by a revised method of calculating regional breakdowns, which saw Air Bridge traffic to the Far East re-classified as European traffic as it transits the airline’s Moscow hub.