Copenhagen Airport said cargo volumes already reach 70% of 2019 levels as of late September a good indicator — that volumes are already coming back after the disruptions brought by the coronavirus. 

"Copenhagen Kastrup Airport reported a steady increase in cargo capacity during summer 2020 as airlines commenced cargo operations with passenger aircraft," the Scandinavian gateway said in a statement, noting that many airlines have also resumed passenger services with widebody aircraft.

"Cargo volumes reached almost 70% of 2019 levels and more than 50% of capacity had been restored at the end of September 2020," it added.

The airport stated that products such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and fresh salmon "increased heavily", along with "huge volumes" of PPE imports.

The airport also noted significant growth in global e-commerce, resulting in greater

volumes for airlines such as DHL Aviation, FedEx Express and UPS.

"With a decent start to the year, and several indications for a strong air cargo market in 2020 – no regular belly cargo capacity, and a temporary halt in global production, were not likely scenarios for March and April. With approximately half of the global air cargo capacity on the ground, airlines had to prioritize capacity and think of new ways to meet the resuming demand," Copenhagen airport said.

Passenger aircraft operated as cargo aircraft

Looking back to February this year, it noted that the majority of the air freight in and out of the airport was transported in the belly of passenger operated widebody aircraft. 

It noted that SAS operated more than 10 daily long-haul routes to Asia and the US; Qatar Airways with up to 3 daily frequencies to Doha; Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Air China and Air Canada also having daily departures to global hubs.

Come the middle of March, it said that most of the above-mentioned routes were on a temporary break, and in a matter of a few weeks the widebody cargo capacity to and from Copenhagen dropped to almost nothing.

"With the passenger flights almost at a complete standstill, the airline industry started thinking outside the box: widebody passenger aircraft operating as cargo aircraft to continuously serve the air freight industry," it said. 

General development

Since the start-up of preighters, Copenhagen Aiport said the offering of air cargo capacity has steadily increased during the summer.

"From the very beginning of COVID-19, several Asian, Middle Eastern and North American airlines have shown a strong commitment to CPH by offering several weekly frequencies carrying cargo only. Our entire region and industry heavily rely on these prime carriers to transport much-needed products such as PPE, pharmaceuticals, foods and machinery parts,” said Lars Gotfredsen, Air Cargo manager.

"After a very uncertain spring, and good signs of returning cargo and capacity, combined with loyal and trusted airline partners, the cargo team of Copenhagen Airports remain optimistic in these difficult times," the Scandinavian gateway said. Despite this positive development, the airport won't see the same 345,000 tons of cargo volume as in 2019