Vienna Airport achieved a historic record result in air cargo in 2025: with 313,763 tonnes of cargo handled, a new all-time high was reached. Compared with the previous year, this represents growth of 5.3%. Key drivers of this development were the targeted expansion of long-haul services with additional belly-hold capacity, as well as strong growth in the e-commerce and pharmaceutical segments. The Vienna Pharma Handling Center also recorded a new all-time high, exceeding the previous year’s result by 6.4%.
“A strong cargo sector is a key success factor for airports. Air freight secures global supply chains and promotes economic growth. Vienna Airport plays a central role in this context—as a logistics hub and as the most important gateway for air cargo to Central and Eastern Europe. With global airlines at the location, a specialised service offering and a strong team, we are very well positioned,” says Julian Jäger, joint CEO and COO of Vienna Airport.
“In air cargo, all processes must interlock seamlessly to ensure that shipments are handled efficiently and quickly at all times. Behind this record result is a strong team performance, with service quality for our customers as the top priority. Traditionally a leading transshipment hub for goods from Asia, the Vienna Cargo Hub benefited particularly in 2025 from growing volumes to North America. In 2026, we naturally aim to build on this positive development and are confident that we can achieve this together with our customers and partners,” adds Michael Zach, Senior Vice President Ground Handling & Cargo Operations of Vienna Airport.
Growth in Exports and Imports
In 2025 167,568 tonnes of air cargo were imported via Vienna Airport and distributed onward to recipients in Central and Eastern Europe. This corresponds to growth of +2.8% compared with the previous record year of 2024 and underlines the airport’s role as an air cargo hub for the region. Growing e-commerce volumes from Asia for Europe continued to drive this development in 2025. On the export side, tonnages increased significantly, particularly in the first half of the year, due to U.S. customs policy. With a total of 146,195 tonnes, the previous year’s figure was exceeded by 8.4% in 2025. Key export markets include Asia and the United States.
Vienna Airport as a Logistics Hub for Central and Eastern Europe
Thanks to its geographically favourable location in Europe, Vienna Airport has positioned itself as an important global cargo hub for Central and Eastern Europe. Vienna Airport is used by leading cargo airlines, especially for intercontinental transport. The airport offers rapid transshipment times based on its 24/7 operational readiness. Ten Category F aircraft parking bays (Boeing 747, Antonov 124) in close proximity to the terminal buildings are available for air cargo. Vienna Airport is firmly anchored in the European network of air cargo road feeder services. The most important consumer and business centres in Central and Eastern Europe are accessed within 24 or 48 hours. Flughafen Wien AG, which is publicly traded on the Vienna Stock Exchange, is one of the biggest employers in the region, featuring a workforce of more than 5,400 people.
