Liege Airport, the leading cargo airport in Belgium, has seen a major development. Following 2017, already a record year with 717,000 tonnes of goods, 2018 has closed with a total of 870,644 tonnes transported, a 21.5% increase!
In spite of the commercial tensions between the USA and China, increasing oil prices and the predicted consequences of Brexit, world freight activity has seen a 4.5% increase in 2018. Similarly, Liege Airport’s figures are exceptional
This is a new record, because since Liege Airport was established in 1990, we have never achieved such a level of tonnage. This confirms we are on the right track with our strategy to go with full cargo companies
declares Luc Partoune, Liege Airport CEO, and adds :
The arrival of new companies and the performance and exceptional growth achieved by all our operators have contributed to positioning us among the best cargo airports worldwide. I congratulate the entire cargo community (road hauliers, charter operators, etc.)”
Exciting prospects ahead
To sustain the growth of companies and handling agents, Liege Airport has accelerated its investment programme, Luc Partoune explains:
In 2019 and 2020, more than 30,000 sq. m. of warehousing will be made available to air cargo handlers. In the next few months, AirBridge Cargo will start using its first warehouse. The contract about to be signed with Cainiao (Alibaba group) is going to provide a medium-term boost for our activities and several hundred jobs will be necessary to sustain the growth in companies established at Liege Airport
The real estate sector – under the subsidiary Liege Airport Business Park – has also seen great success with a 98% occupancy rate of offices and 100% of warehouses. The call for proposals held in 2018 led the Board of Directors to select the “Valentiny” consortium for its vision of the office development in front of the passenger terminal esplanade. The construction of an initial office building of approximately 7,000 sq. m. has been allocated to the 2019 budget at a total cost of €14.6 million.
Let us also mention that 170,961 passengers were carried in 2018 and there were 38,814 flights to and from the airport.
The expected net result should exceed €4 million.
Icelandair Cargo handles all shipments to and from Iceland for FedEx and TNT, following a new three-year agreement going into effect in early 2020. After FedEx’s acquisition of TNT, FedEx and TNT have merged their operations, and aim to expand their operations in Iceland in cooperation with Icelandair Cargo. FedEx is one of the largest express transportation companies in the world, headquartered in the United States.
