Frankfurt Airport said its cargo volumes in February was the highest ever recorded with the Chinese New Year helping boost airfreight demand.

Europe's busiest cargo airport recorded a 21.7% growth in cargo volumes last month to 180,725 tonnes compared to year-ago levels. 

Year to date in February 2021, Frankfurt Airport saw volumes at 356,991 tonnes, already 19.1% higher than 2020.

The hub attributed its strong performance to the utilization of preighters, the "shift" observed from sea to air due to disruptions in shipping, as well as the timing of the Chinese New year in 2021 — which commenced on February 12.

The airport also noted that the cargo volumes in February were also boosted by continuing demand for pharma products including PPE and e-commerce goods.

“Right before the start of the Chinese New Year, there was a peak of about 49,800 tonnes during the first week of February,” Frankfurt Airport said.

“This was the second-highest count for a single week ever seen at Frankfurt Airport. The same applied for Saturday, February 6, in that about 9,000 tonnes of cargo were handled (of which about 8,800 tonnes airfreight) and this was the second-highest count for a single day in the history of Frankfurt Airport. This peak was based on the Chinese New Year and the shift of sea freight to air freight,” it added.

Meanwhile, passenger demand during the period dropped by 84.4%.

Frankfurt Airport noted that “there was a tremendous increase of intercontinental cargo traffic (+134% compared with last year).” It noted that “most of the additional cargo connections were to and from the US and China.”

The airport also noted that the cargo volumes in February were also boosted by continuing demand for pharma products including PPE and e-commerce goods.