Cargo volumes at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol decreased 2.5% in 2018 with increased belly cargo making up for declining freighter traffic.

Schiphol handled 1.7 million tonnes of cargo in 2018, with belly cargo increasing 4.1% while full freighter volumes were down 7% with full freighter movements decreasing 10.4%.

Total flight movements at Schiphol were 499,444, just below the slot capacity of 500,000, a figure that is expected to remain steady throughout 2019.

Maaike van der Windt, director aviation marketing, cargo and customer experience at Schiphol says: “In 2018, despite a slight decrease in overall freight volumes, we built on a number of initiatives that enhance the experience of our pharmaceutical, e-commerce, and perishables customers, and our continued commitment to quality is having positive results.”

She adds: “We experienced a year of ups and downs in 2018, and in 2019 we will continue to focus on close collaboration with our cargo community through the Smart Cargo Mainport Program to pursue ambitions such as an increase in digital information exchange and quality improvements in the supply chain.”

Asia remained the largest market with Shanghai in China the busiest destination, with e-commerce shipments the main contributor.

Asian imports decreasing 1.1% to 299,110 tonnes and exports by 4.2% to 302,994 tonnes compared to 2017.

European imports were down 6.9% to 116,359 tonnes while exports were up by 1.2% to 122,489 tonnes.

Inbound traffic from the Middle East was down 9% to 88,932 tonnes while outbound volumes were down 10% to 110,333 tonnes.

African inbound volumes decreased by 1.3% to 112,361 tonnes but outbound traffic was up 3.2% to 53,402 tonnes.

Inbound cargo from Latin America was up 5.5% to 130,295 tonnes and outbound by 6.23% to 81,265 tonnes.

North American imports declined 8.4% to 130,624 tonnes while exports were up 2.1% to 168,333 tonnes.