Frankfurt Cargo Down 7.9 Percent in May

Frankfurt Airport’s cargo traffic fell 7.9 percent in May from a year ago, but the second monthly decline in three months is the result of a statistical blip.

Last May’s traffic, which soared almost 40 percent year-over-year, was distorted by a backlog of freight stranded by the six-day volcanic ash shutdown of Europe’s biggest cargo airport in April 2010.

By the Numbers: International Air Freight Industry.

Frankfurt handled 191,837 tons of cargo in May, taking traffic for the five months of the year to 936,320 tons, up 2.6 percent on the same period in 2010, airport owner Fraport reported.

Cargo traffic at Fraport’s five majority-owned airports – Frankfurt, Lima, Peru; Antalya, Turkey; and Varna and Burgas in Bulgaria – declined 7.5 percent in May to 212,904 tons, leaving the five month total up 3.2 percent at 1.04 million tons.

London Heathrow reported cargo traffic dropped 5.9 percent in May to 128,083 tons, again the result of the volcanic ash shutdown. Traffic for the first five months was up 4.4 percent at 615,182 tons.

-- Contact Bruce Barnard at brucebarndard47@hotmail.com.