Hong Kong Holds Off Memphis as Top Cargo Airport

Hong Kong International retained its title as the world’s largest air cargo gateway in 2011, despite a decline in volume resulting from Asia’s slowing exports.

Cargo volume at HKIA fell 4.6 percent from 2010 to 3.94 million metric tons. Second-ranked Memphis International, the home base for parcel and freight giant FedEx, failed to make up much ground, however, as volume fell marginally to about 3.9 million metric tons.

Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport maintained its place in the top three but also felt the impact of slower U.S. and European demand for exports out of China. Preliminary figures from Airports Council International showed Pudong’s volumes slipped 4.3 percent to 3.1 million metric tons.

Anchorage squeezed into fourth place in the rankings ahead of South Korea’s Incheon International Airport after handling some 2.56 million metric tons last year, a slight year-to-year decrease. Incheon’s cargo volumes slid 5.4 percent to 2.54 million metric tons.

Contact Michael King at Michael@borderline.eu.com