AirBridgeCargo regular flights helped increase Munich airport cargo-only traffic
From January to October 2021, around 55,000 metric tons of cargo in cargo-only aircraft was processed at Munich Airport, an increase of 38 percent compared with 2019 and currently cargo-only traffic accounts for around 45 percent. This is all because of the regular flights by the Russian cargo airline AirBridgeCargo, which flies between the Bavarian capital and various Asian destinations six times a week with Boeing B747-8F jumbo jets.
The positive development in cargo-only traffic is also being spurred on by a newcomer: As of late, Moldova’s Aerotranscargo has been landing a jumbo freighter from Hong Kong in Munich twice a week. The airline is flying this cargo route on behalf of the international logistics service provider DB Schenker.
Jost Lammers, CEO, Munich Airport says, “That more and more freighters are touching down in Munich is a further demonstration of the enormous potential that our airport offers as a handling hub for air cargo. Considering the export-oriented economy of southern Germany and its close connections to markets and production sites all over the world, I still see considerable development opportunities for our airport here.”
At the beginning of November, DHL Express doubled its cargo services from five to ten weekly departures. In addition, Kuwait Airways, Thai Airways and Oman Airlines have registered several charter cargo flights in Munich in the next few weeks.
One of the world’s largest freighters is also to be seen more frequently in Munich from the end of November to mid-December: The Russian cargo airline Volga-Dnepr Airlines (VDA) is planning a series of Antonov 124 flights via the Bavarian aviation hub in this period.
At Munich Airport, cargo is predominantly transported in large passenger aircraft as belly cargo. In previous years, this belly cargo made up around 90 percent of the total cargo volume in Munich. Against the backdrop of the global Covid-19 pandemic, however, the relative significance of the different types of air cargo in Munich has shifted considerably. While there has been a substantial decline in belly cargo due to the lack of long-haul passenger flights to Asia and America, “cargo-only traffic” has increased considerably in the same period.
An end of the boom in cargo-only traffic is not currently in sight. On the contrary, further cargo services departing from Munich are being planned for next year. But there will also be more capacity for belly cargo in Munich again in the future. Due to the resumption of numerous long-haul flights to North and Central America, such as to Miami, Vancouver and Mexico, airlines can again carry significantly more cargo across the Atlantic in addition to their passengers.
Current Issue - October 2021
