News that Schiphol (AMS) has grown its cargo volumes in the first half of the year has not dispelled stakeholder concern about the amount of cargo capacity at the airport.
AMS revealed this week that its H1 freight volumes this year were 8.7% up on the same period of 2023. For the first six months of 2024, AMS handled 738,414 tonnes of cargo.
This was largely due to a 12.5% growth in passenger flights, which meant belly cargo grew 23.3% year on year, to 305,593 tonnes.
The number of full freighter flights dropped by 5.4%, but were still responsible for a “steady” 432,820 tonnes of cargo, while freighter capacity overall rose 13%.
However, the airport stakeholders remain concerned about a number of issues. Air Cargo Netherlands (ACN) pointed to data which shows how many freighter flights operated on an ‘ad hoc’ basis, rather than via historic slot rights.
“Demand for slots for full freighters at Schiphol has been higher than available slots for years now,” explained MD Maarten van As.
