Amsterdam Airport Schiphol posts 3.2% increase in cargo flights in March; tonnage carried decreases by 16.8%
April 16, 2020: The number of cargo flights to and from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in March rose by 3.2 percent compared to the same month last year, to reach a total of 1,338. There was a significant increase in the number of dedicated cargo aircraft at Schiphol (+25 percent) in the last week of March.
Even though cargo is generally carried in a dedicated cargo aircraft, there are also combinations of passenger planes with cargo in the hold. This was unable to compensate for the decrease in cargo in the hold of passenger aircraft over the entire month of March and the tonnage transported decreased by 16.8 percent, despite the upward trend in the number of cargo aircraft during the last week.
“We are seeing increases in the transport of certain items that are usually transported by sea, like surgical face masks, protective eyewear and disposable gloves. Those items are currently being sent as air freight too because of the faster delivery times,” Maaike van der Windt, head of aviation marketing at cargo and customer experience stated.
Meanwhile, the number of flights to and from Schiphol in March fell by 36.8 percent to a total of 25,155. The number of travellers arriving, departing or transferring at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol decreased by 56.1 percent to 2.5 million. The figures for March are entirely dominated by the impact of coronavirus.
There was a decrease of 51 percent to 0.8 million in the number of intercontinental passengers at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The decrease in passenger volume to South America was the least pronounced (-34 percent), while the most pronounced decrease occurred for Asia (-63.1 percent). Africa (-40 percent), the Middle East (-49 percent) and North America (-55 percent) also saw major drops in passenger volumes. Passenger volumes within Europe also fell by 58.4 percent, with Italy showing the largest drop (-84.3 percent).
The coronavirus has created an unprecedented situation worldwide, for the Netherlands and also for Schiphol. The drop in passenger numbers demonstrates that this situation is having a considerable impact.
