Frankfurt Cargo volume hits August record

Frankfurt airport's freight traffic soared 18.4 percent in August from a year ago to an all time high for the month.

Germany's largest airport handled 185,372 metric tons of freight last month to reach pre-crisis levels and consolidate its position as Europe's top air cargo hub ahead of Paris Charles de Gaulle and London Heathrow. Fraport is No. 6 on The JOC list of Top 30 International Cargo Airports.

Traffic hit a monthly high of 191,480 tons in July, a 20.1 percent rise on the same period in 2009.

Passenger traffic rose 6.6 percent to 5.2 million, the busiest August ever and the second highest monthly figure in the airport's history.

"Now that we are back on a steady growth course, Frankfurt's capacity expansion is more urgent than ever," said Stefan Schulte, chief executive of Fraport, the airport's owner/operator.

Fraport last week said it would open up an additional 67 acres for cargo facilities and issued a worldwide call for "expression of interest" from logistics companies to specify their location and space requirements.

The Fraport group's total cargo traffic in August including Frankfurt and Antalya, Turkey, Burgas and Varna, Bulgaria and Lima, Peru, increased 17.1 percent to 212,710 metric tons.
(Source:www.joc.com)