Amsterdam Airport Schiphol’s total cargo volume for 2021 increased by 15.7% to 1.66 million tonnes compared to 2020.

Last year, inbound cargo volumes increased by 15.2% to 869,241 tonnes in 2021 compared to 2020, and outbound cargo volumes also increased by 16.1% to 798,063 tonnes during the same period.

The top three destinations for cargo by tonnage were Shanghai, China, Chicago, USA, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

In 2021, freight volumes were shipped in two categories of flights: full freighters, which accounted for 67% of total volumes, and passenger flights at 33% of total volumes.

The main factors attributable to the growth observed in 2021 were the return of sufficient slot availability at the airport and high demand.

“The 2021 figures are encouraging in light of the ongoing challenges of Covid on the operating environment,” said Anne Marie van Hemert, Head of Aviation Business Development.

“Last year, the cargo team formed a new Aviation Business Development Division, putting all airline and cargo commercial and operational business in a single department and introducing new faces.

“The newly established team has focused on accelerating our Smart Cargo Mainport Program and ensuring faster handling of export cargo, resulting in Digital Pre-notification for all ground handlers at Schiphol as the new standard.

“Going forward, the team will focus its efforts on securing Automated Nomination as the new standard, with sustainability a key driver behind this and all of our digitalization initiatives.”

A refreshed overall cargo strategy has been devised by Schiphol Airport for 2022 to tackle the challenges ahead, including capacity shortage, landside congestion, sustainability, security for valuable cargo, enforcement of smart Customs policies and digitalization.

This year will also see the continued modernization of airport cargo information platform Cargonaut’s Port Community System under the flag of Schiphol.