Schiphol Cargo Tonnage Hits 1.5M, Up 8.2% in 2024

At Schiphol Cargo – total air cargo tonnage reached 1.5 million tonnes in 2024, marking an 8.2 percent increase on 2023.

Electronics, machinery and spare parts, perishables, clothing, e-commerce goods, and pharmaceuticals are some of the largest categories by freight volume.

Air cargo growth was driven by a surge in e-commerce and various global geo-political developments and ocean shipping restrictions.

The Full Freighter to Belly ratio shifted to 57 percent for full freighters and 43 percent for belly freight, indicating an increase in the proportion of belly freight from 39 percent in 2023.

Experts expect this trend to continue in the coming years.

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With a small decrease in full freighter flights, higher volumes carried by the aircraft led to a 1 percent average year-on-year increase in full freighter tonnage.

Belly freight saw a notable 19.8 percent increase, driven by a higher number of flights carrying belly cargo, as passenger flights continued their post-COVID recovery.

All regions experienced strong growth, except for Latin America, which saw a decline, partly due to the reallocation of routes to and from Asia driven by e-commerce demand.

Growth in both Inbound and Outbound Tonnage:

• Inbound tonnage grew by 7.8 percent, fueled by strong demand from regions including the Middle East (India), Far East (China, Japan, Korea), Africa (Kenya, South Africa), and the US.
• Outbound tonnage saw an 8.8 percent increase, primarily driven by demand from the US. Significant growth also stemmed from The Middle East, Africa and Europe.