Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) International Airport saw cargo surge for the fifth consecutive year in 2016 as it handled 366,000 tonnes – an increase of 10.2 per cent on 2015.

The gateway welcomed four new airfreight carriers last year in the shape of DHL Express, AeroLogic, PrimeAir for Amazon, and AirBridgeCargo Airlines, which helped boost the total.

Domestic airfreight shot up 20 per cent to 194,754 tonnes in 2016. Sea-Tac was the first US airport in 2016 to welcome the Amazon-branded Prime Air Boeing 767 cargo aircraft into service.

In April, Sea-Tac welcomed AeroLogic – a joint venture between Lufthansa Cargo and DHL Express then started a daily service in September.

Shortly after also in September, ABC launched twice-weekly Boeing 747 Freighter services from Moscow to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, its sixth route within the US.

Cherries are a popular export from the Seattle area, along with seafood and the airport is becoming an e-commerce hub through the Prime Air flights.