Airport News
Cologne Bonn Airport handled the highest amount of cargo traffic in its history in 2011.
Almost 743,000 tonnes of air cargo – a 13% increase on 2010 – was recorded by the airport.
Passenger figures were slightly below the 2010 level but, despite the difficult political and economic situation, exceeded expectations with 9.6 million people flying to or from Cologne/Bonn. This was 2% fewer than in 2010.
Airport CEO Michael Garvens, said: “This year [2011], the cargo business brought us again to a peak level, so that we can tie up with the successful years we had before DHL/Lufthansa Cargo moved away. Despite the air traffic surcharges and the massive cuts by Air Berlin, the downturn in passenger traffic was still moderate. All in all, the cargo growth made up for the slightly weaker development in passenger figures.”
Mr Garvens said that the air traffic tax introduced in January 2011 had a “negative impact” on the airport due to the relatively large number of low-cost traffic and domestic flights it handles.
The airport issued a statement saying: “The surcharge is not in a proportional relationship to the low-priced tickets, and domestic flights are taxed twice, as the surcharge is levied both on the outward and the return flight.”
The statement added that “massive capacity adjustments” by Air Berlin, cutting some 430,000 seats at Cologne Bonn had also affected its overall performance.
By contrast, freight showed particularly strong growth in the first six months of last year. From January to June 2011, cargo figures showed double-digit growth. The top month was May with 70,761 tonnes of air cargo, representing a record rise of 40%.
Growth drivers were reported to be the US carriers UPS and FedEx.
Mr Garvens added: “The investments the express cargo airlines made in their hubs are certainly paying off. The record figures also reflect the successful development of the daytime cargo operations in our Cologne Bonn Cargo Centre.”
Cologne Bonn Airport predicts a growth in traffic volume for 2012. The number of passengers is expected to remain almost unchanged at around 9.6 million, while cargo is forecast to increase by almost 8% to 800,000 tonnes.
