Germany’s Air Cargo Sector Faces Decline
(MENAFN) Frankfurt Airport, historically the leading air cargo gateway in Europe, has now ceded its top spot to Istanbul Airport, according to the German Aviation Association (BDL).
The association attributed this shift to increasing operational expenses on the ground and an overload of bureaucratic obstacles.
In 2024, international air freight volumes saw a global rise of 6 percent. However, Frankfurt Airport experienced only a modest 1.2 percent increase.
Meanwhile, Istanbul Airport recorded a significant 39.6 percent surge in cargo handling, allowing it to surpass Frankfurt for the first time in terms of cargo throughput.
The BDL cautioned that freight movement is increasingly being redirected to neighboring nations where costs are lower and logistical procedures more efficient.
This trend is posing a serious challenge to German airports, particularly Frankfurt and Cologne/Bonn, which are struggling to maintain their competitive edge.
In an effort to counteract this decline, the association introduced a five-step strategy and appealed to the federal authorities to implement immediate actions aimed at reinforcing Germany’s role in global air logistics.
Among the recommended actions are trimming government-imposed ground charges, expediting bureaucratic steps by digitally applying EU aviation safety regulations, offering more adaptable shift schedules for air freight personnel, applying EU customs policies consistently across all member states, and streamlining the process for import VAT collection.
“Air transport is growing faster globally than at German hubs,” the BDL noted, predicting that Germany's air freight growth in 2025 will stagnate at just 1.2 percent.
The group further emphasized that persistent structural issues and sluggish regulatory systems are undermining Germany’s appeal as a logistics hub.
It called for swift overhauls to avoid further erosion of market share to competing international airports.
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