Luxembourg Airport cargo handling reaches record in 2017

A record 938,000 tonnes of airfreight passed through Luxembourg Airport last year as it benefitted from stronger demand worldwide.

"It took the airport 10 years to break the record of 2007 when 896,000 tonnes were handled," a spokesperson for the airport said in a statement on Thursday.

"The financial crisis of 2008 caused cargo volumes to reduce significantly. Only since 2013 has Luxembourg Airport been able to record continuous growth figures again," the statement said.

Citing figures from the International Air Transport Association on 30 January, the airport said global airfreight volumes grew 9% last year. The figure, expressed in freight tonne kilometres, for Europe was 11.8%.

To meet that growth the airport began construction on expanding its apron to 12 from eight parking positions early last year. The project will cost around €40 million. Two of the new slots will become operational in September and the others in October, it said.

Cargolux

Luxembourg's Cargolux, Europe's biggest all-cargo airline, remained the largest operator last year, benefitting from ties between the airport and Zhengzhou Airport in China, it said.

Cargolux flew up to 15 flights a week between the two destinations alone, the airport said. The company flies to more than 90 destinations worldwide, according to its website.

Qatar Airways was the second-largest freight carrier at Luxembourg after it increased its flights to 27 per week from 15, the airport said.

The airport specialises in handling outsized cargo that can only be transported by 747 freighters because of the plane's large nose loading door.

Cargolux has an all-747 fleet, according to its website.

Among the cargo that passed through Luxembourg Airport were cars, helicopters, aircraft engines, giraffes, alpacas, deer, gorillas, turtles and zebras.

The airport said on 11 January that 3.6 million passengers travelled through it last year, up from three million in 2016. It set a monthly record in July with 362,243 passengers.