- The total amount of flights in Q3 2024 compared to Q3 2023 grew with 3%, for both pax/belly and full freighter flights. Due to higher load factors, the cargo volume in this period increased with 13%!
- A quick scan reveals that cargo belly volume increased with +17% whilst cargo carried on full freighters with +10%.
Published on: 11 November 2024
Highlights on a continental level
Cargo volume in the Middle East grew by 20%, while the number of flights to this continent decreased by 15%.
Underlying there is an increase in the number of full freighter flights of 18.1% and a decrease in the number of passenger flights of -22%. The result of this is an increase in the full freighter volume of 32.8% and a (limited) decrease in the cargo belly volume of -0.8%;
Due to instabilities in the Middle East, flying has significantly decreased to some countries with its effect on belly freight. However, in the full freighter segment the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in particular are growing. The share of these 2 countries in the number of flights to and from the Middle East grew from 49% to 65%. Volume wise, they count for 83%.
The cargo volume to and from the Far East grows by 12%. This means that the Far East is growing at about the same rate as Africa (14%), Central South America (11%) and North America (11%). However, the figures for the Far East reflect the direct flights to Amsterdam, hence transfer cargo on Middle Eastern airports is excluded.
Increased frequencies to HongKong, South Korea and Indonesia also lead to an increase in cargo volume.
Africa saw a comparable growth, but the number of flights on this continent are stable, with Kenya and South Africa being the dominant countries.
Summary YTD 2024 (January – September)
- The total amount of cargo volume YTD 2024 September compared to YTD 2023 September increased with 10,1%. Total flights at the same time increased with 8,6%, resulting in a net increase of total cargo volume per flight.
- Cargo transported by passenger flights increased by 20.9% YTD September 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. Total passenger flights at the same time increased with 9,1%, resulting in a net increase of cargo volume per passenger flight (increase from 1,2 to 1,4 tonnes per flight).
- The total amount of full freighter flights decreased by 2,7% YTD September 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, while full freighter cargo volume in this period increased with 3,.3%. Cargo volume per full freighter flight has increased from 52 tonnes in 2023 to 56 tonnes per flight in 2024.