Munich Airport signalled optimism about its cargo operations this year, citing additional routes and expansion plans that would help boost its freight volumes.

The gateway — one of Europe's busiest cargo airports — said freight volumes "continue to soar in 2024."

Compared with the same month of the previous year, freight volume increased by 6.5% in January and 10.8% in February.

"Overall, the volume of freight at Munich Airport is now back to almost 90% of the pre-pandemic level," Munich Airport said.

It added that the availability of freight capacity will also continue to increase this year.

New routes to Seattle, Johannesburg, and Vietnam, as well as additional flights on the schedule – including to Beijing and Osaka – offer industrial and logistics companies in the service area of Munich Airport additional opportunities to transport cargo directly via Munich.

"Munich Airport's cargo area is particularly appealing with fast turnaround times due to its efficient infrastructure, which enables goods to be transported to the aircraft quickly thanks to short distances," the announcement said.

Meanwhile, it added that infrastructure continues to grow at the airport, with DHL Express planning to open a new building for freight handling in the summer.

The airport also has plenty of space for future expansion in the cargo area.

Successful year for airfreight

Looking back, the airport said airfreight had a "successful year" in 2023.

Citing data from the German Airports Association (ADV), Munich Airport said it was the only major German airport to record growth in freight transportation in 2023.

With a volume of 284,000 tons, the airport said it registered a year-on-year increase of 6.6%, while the total volume in Germany fell by 7.1%.

"A significant share of this increase is attributable to belly cargo, i.e., goods transported in the cargo hold of passenger aircraft, which grew by as much as 11% at Munich Airport," the airport said in a statement.

It added that the direct connections to China, which were resumed in the middle of last year, the new route to Bangalore in southern India, and the four weekly flights to Taipei have also been very well received, especially by the healthy Bavarian export industry.