The main air traffic hubs in Europe are not only the largest passenger air traffic hubs but the largest air cargo centres as well. It can be stated that within the top 30 airports, the majority, 24 airports belong to the top 30 airports, both in terms of passenger and cargo traffic handled. These 30 airports operate almost 9/10 part (89,9%) of the total freight transport of all the European airports: in total 12,7 million tons! At the same time these airports serve 56,9% of all the passengers (almost 725 million people) who are landing or leaving in European airports.
The dataset of Eurostat reveals, that air cargo traffic is dedicated mainly to intercontinental transport, because the European destinations represent a much smaller share, only 15,3% of the service (calculated by tons) compared to the passenger traffic. The top 10 airports in air cargo transport are as follows (. table):
Cargo traffic at the main European airports, 2010
. table
City
|
Airport
|
Total freight
|
of which Europe
|
share of Europe
|
Frankfurt
|
FRA
|
2 133 330
|
232 491
|
10,9%
|
Amsterdam
|
AMS
|
1 523 805
|
111 940
|
7,3%
|
London
|
LHR
|
1 484 487
|
78 163
|
5,3%
|
Leipzig
|
LEJ
|
743 980
|
293 189
|
39,4%
|
Cologne
|
CGN
|
726 250
|
245 780
|
33,8%
|
Liege
|
LGG
|
674 360
|
110 629
|
16,4%
|
Luxembourg
|
LUX
|
656 653
|
61 363
|
9,3%
|
Istanbul
|
IST
|
498 047
|
42 662
|
8,6%
|
Milan
|
MXP
|
440 258
|
12 442
|
2,8%
|
Madrid
|
MAD
|
393 431
|
31 489
|
8,0%
|
It is also interesting that some smaller airports, like Leipzig, Cologne and perhaps Liege, are more focused on intra-European air cargo than the average airport in Europe in spite of the fact that they also serve a higher share of intercontinental transport as well.
Comparing the quantity of goods transported by air and the persons travelling by air reveals a considerable difference: while there are a lot of passengers between the large hubs of Europe and the Mediterranean area, the air cargo traffic is not too important in these relations (see Main air cargo connections in Europe, 2010). But the transport of goods and mail is much more significant between the key airports of Europe and the peripheral airports which are situated mainly in the former Soviet Union.
Main air cargo connections in Europe, 2010
. figure
Also it has to be highlighted that although generally the largest hubs are the most important both in terms of passenger and cargo traffic, there are some airports which play a decisive role only in terms of cargo traffic (see: Error: Reference source not found). E.g. Liège has about 300 thousand passengers in a year but handles almost 675 thousand tons of cargo in a year. The situation is very similar in Luxembourg, in Leipzig or in London East Middlands airport too. Moderate passenger traffic combined with considerable cargo traffic: cargo traffic is the key although passenger traffic is also important.
Passenger and air cargo traffic at some European airports, 2010
. table
City
|
Airport
|
Passengers (arriving and departing), persons; 2011
|
Cargo (loaded and unloaded), tons; 2011
|
Leipzig
|
LEJ
|
2 263 668
|
743 980
|
Cologne
|
CGN
|
9 623 398
|
726 250
|
Liège
|
LGG
|
305 281
|
674 360
|
Luxembourg
|
LUX
|
1 790 791
|
656 653
|
London, East Midlands
|
EMA
|
4 259 816
|
266 498
|
Milan
|
BGY
|
8 416 961
|
112 249
|
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