Liege Airport breaks its own cargo handling record in 2018

Jan 09, 2019: In 2018, Liege Airport, the cargo airport in Belgium, has made a record by transporting a total of 870,644 tonnes of goods, a 21.5 percent increase compared to the previous year, i.e. 717,000 tonnes.

“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. 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,” said Luc Partoune, Liege Airport CEO.

To sustain the growth of companies and handling agents, Liege Airport has accelerated its investment programme. “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 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,” stated Partoune.

In spite of the commercial tensions between the US and China, increasing oil prices and the predicted consequences of Brexit, world freight activity has seen a 4.5 percent increase in 2018.

The real estate sector under the subsidiary Liege Airport Business Park has also seen great success with a 98 percent occupancy rate of offices and 100 percent 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 square metre has been allocated to the 2019 budget at a total cost of €14.6 million. In 2018, 170,961 passengers were carried and there were 38,814 flights to and from the airport.