Amsterdam Airport Schiphol handled 129,659 tonnes of air cargo in April 2026, representing an 11% year-on-year increase.
After strong growth in January and February, March showed a temporary dip, mainly related to ongoing geopolitical developments in the Middle East. April marked a clear recovery. The belly-to-full-freighter split in April reached 42% / 58%, with full freighters gaining three percentage points year-on-year.
Inbound and outbound volumes were split 53% / 47%.
Inbound volumes continued to show strong growth from the Far East (+22% year-on-year). This growth was partly driven by cargo flows shifting away from Middle East routings towards more direct Far East–Europe connections. Middle and South America (+11%) and Africa (+16%) also recorded growth, while Middle East volumes recovered significantly, improving from -47% in March to -15% in April.
On the outbound side, the Far East showed an even stronger increase (+25%), Africa recorded significant growth (+61%), and volumes to the US turned positive for the first time in 11 months (+3%). Outbound volumes to the Middle East improved from -50% in March to -20% in April.
The top commodities in April included electrical machinery, flowers, fashion, fish, fruit and vegetables, pharmaceuticals, and spare parts. In addition to air cargo volumes, Schiphol handled 38,670 tonnes of Road Feeder Service (RFS) cargo, accounting for nearly a quarter of total cargo throughput.
Maastricht Aachen Airport — often referred to as Schiphol’s seventh runway — handled 5,456 tonnes of air cargo, representing 31% year-on-year growth
(source: Schiphol Cargo)
