#3: Amsterdam was impacted by slot limitations
In 2018, the airports that saw the biggest drops in cargo volumes include Tokyo Narita (NRT) at 3.2 percent, Amsterdam (AMS) at 2.7 percent, Paris (CVG) at 1.8 percent, Shanghai Pudong (PVG) at 1.5 percent and Heathrow at 1.3 percent.
Amsterdam, for its part, is clearly feeling the brunt of slot limitations for full freighter flights. shortage issue for freighters.
Competition for Asian airports – including Incheon (ICN), Singapore (SIN), Taipei (TPE) and PVG – is likewise heating up as these airports seek to position themselves in capturing growing perishable and e-commerce markets. Airports in mainland China take up three of the eight Asia-Pacific region airports in ACI’s preliminary top 20 cargo airport rankings, and although PVG experienced a dip in its cargo volumes for 2018, these numbers could be flying to other Yangtze River Delta airports, including Wuxi (WUX), Hangzhou (HGH) or other major Chinese hubs like Zhengzhou (CGO) and Xi’an (XIY). The Chinese government also has major plans to develop massive airfreight hubs in Beijing and Chengdu, which could present a further challenge to other Asia-Pacific airports moving forward.