According to preliminary results published by Airports' Council International (ACI), freight volumes handled by the world’s airports rose again in 2024, following a 3.1% drop in 2023. Last year, globally airports handled just over 124 million tonnes of cargo, up 8.4% from the previous year and 3.9% from 2019, the last pre-pandemic benchmark. According to the ACI, activity was boosted by strong demand from the cross-border e-commerce sector and by disruptions to shipping in the Red Sea, which led some shippers to switch to ocean or combined sea/air transport.
Content source : Airports’ Council International (ACI), airport authorities.
The world's top 20 airports generated cumulative traffic of 54.3 million tonnes (Mt) in 2024, up 7.0% from the previous year. They represented 44% of the global volume. The top 20 has 8 platforms in Asia (including 4 in China), 6 in the United States, 3 in the Middle East and 3 in Europe. In addition to international connections, Asia and the United States benefit from a regional market that is favourable to air freight due to its size or geography, while the intra-European market is essentially covered by land transport.
Compared to containerised shipping, where Chinese ports occupy 4 of the top 5 global port positions, China's dominance is less overwhelming here. Nevertheless, Chinese airport platforms continue to gain ground. In 2024, Shanghai overtook Memphis and is now in second place behind Hong Kong, which consolidated its first place thanks to growth of 14%. The other two Chinese platforms in the Top 20, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, also stand out with double-digit growth.
The top spot for growth, however, goes to Istanbul, which climbed five places in the world rankings with an increase of almost 37%, in line with the rise of the national company Turkish Airlines. Turkey makes no secret of its ambitions to establish itself as a major hub in this period of the reconfiguration of supply chains. For now, Doha and Dubai remain the two main hubs in the region and also continue their progression within the Top 20.
Data source: airport authorities.
The top 10 European airports handled 13.1 million tonnes of freight in 2024 compared to 12.3 million tonnes in 2023, an increase of 6.5%, which is lower than the global average. While most had experienced a decline in their cargo activity in 2023, almost all are showing an increase this time.
Year after year, Paris and Frankfurt compete for first place. In 2024, Frankfurt took the lead thanks to growth of 6.2%, much higher than that of Paris, which has failed to reach the 2 million tonne mark. London confirms its 3rd place, ahead of Amsterdam, which is now ahead of Leipzig. The German platform has recorded a further drop in traffic, after having already declined by 7.7% the previous year.
In the rest of the ranking, Liège stands out for its growth which is significantly higher than the European and global averages. The Belgian airport has benefited in particular from the strong growth in cross-border e-commerce with China. Only Madrid airport is doing better in terms of growth, taking advantage of the dynamic Spanish economy. It thus confirms its place in the Top 10, won in 2023 at the expense of Brussels. The latter recovered in 2024 but remains far behind Madrid with 614,678 tonnes (+5% compared to 2023).
Outside the Top 10, two European airports stand out for their spectacular growth. Rome saw its traffic increase by 43% to 271,580 tonnes, while in Budapest, which positions itself as a gateway to Europe for Chinese products, traffic jumped by 84% to 236,577 tonnes.
Content source : Airports’ Council International, airport authorities.
In 2024, the top 10 U.S. airports handled 20.6 million tonnes of air cargo, a 2.6% increase from the previous year. This growth, well below the global average, can be explained by the strategy of certain all-cargo operators who have chosen to reduce the number of flights in response to the gloomy global economic situation.
Memphis and Louisville airports, hubs for FedEx and UPS respectively, retain the top two spots in the Top 10, but the latter performed much better than the first. FedEx has begun restructuring its air network with a view to optimising costs, and this has also affected Indianapolis, its second hub in the United States. Miami, which was one of the few to have progressed in 2023 (+1%), is accentuating the trend and thus clearly retains third place on the podium. In contrast, Cincinnati, the United States’ Amazon Air and DHL hub, declined in 2024, whereas it had also stood out in 2023 with growth of +5.9%.
Content source : Airports’ Council International, airport authorities.
The top 10 Asian airports had cumulative traffic of 25 million tonnes, an increase of 12.7% compared to 2023. Half of the Top 10 is made up of Chinese platforms, starting with the world number 1 Hong Kong, which grew significantly in 2024, as did Guangzhou, its compatriot in the Top 5. Shanghai also achieved an honourable performance, increasing by almost 10% and as such easily maintained the second place on the podium. Overall, Chinese airports are performing spectacularly. Beijing even achieved the growth record for the Top 10, moving up a place in the ranking.
Outside China, Singapore and Bangkok are also returning to a dynamic increase in cargo activity after a declining year in 2023. Performances are a little more modest for Seoul, Taipei and especially Tokyo-Narita. However, unlike in the United States or Europe, no airport in the Asian Top 10 is expected to decline in 2024. These platforms have clearly benefited from the beginning of a recovery in global traffic, but also from the development of intra-Asian trade, which is fuelling the growth of air freight.