Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AAS) has reported a 4.1 per cent increase in total belly cargo and an average decrease of 2.5 per cent in overall freight volumes in 2018 figures.

AAS remains Europe's third largest air cargo hub after reporting freight volumes of 1.7 million tonnes in 2018, despite total full freighter movements decreasing by 10.4 per cent, and total full freighter volumes down by seven per cent.

Total flight movements at AAS were 499,444, just below the slot capacity of 500,000, with that figure expected to remain steady throughout 2019.

"In 2018, despite a slight decrease in overall freight volumes, we built on a number of initiatives that enhance the experience of our pharmaceutical, e-commerce, and perishables customers, and our continued commitment to quality is having positive results," said Maaike van der Windt, Director Aviation Marketing, Cargo and Customer Experience, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

"We experienced a year of ups and downs in 2018, and in 2019 we will continue to focus on close collaboration with our cargo community through the Smart Cargo Mainport Program to pursue ambitions such as an increase in digital information exchange and quality improvements in the supply chain."

Asia remained the largest market at AAS with Shanghai, China, as the busiest destination.

In 2018, Asia inbound volumes ended at 299,110 tonnes, and outbound figures at 302,994 tonnes, a decrease of 1.08 per cent and 4.2 per cent respectively, compared to 2017.

E-commerce shipments remained a large contributor to the volumes in the Asia market.

Europe's figures were down by 6.9 per cent to 116,359 tonnes for inbound, and outbound figures decreased by 1.18 per cent to 122,489 tonnes.

The Middle Eastern market decreased by 9.06 per cent inbound and 10.02 per cent outbound, resulting in respectively 88,932 and 110,333 tonnes in volume.

The Africa inbound volume decreased by 1.3 per cent to 112,361 tonnes, but nevertheless outbound volumes to Africa were up by 3.21 per cent at 53,402 tonnes.

Inbound cargo from Latin America was up 5.48 per cent to 130,295 tonnes, and outbound cargo grew by 6.23 per cent to 81,265 tonnes.

Imports from North America were down 8.38 per cent to 130,624 tonnes year-on-year, whilst the North America export volume was up 2.1 per cent at 168,333 tonnes.

Contributed by Schiphol Cargo