Considerable increase in air traffic

In 2004 passenger and cargo transport by air reached unprecedented figures. Nearly 45 million passengers travelled through Dutch airports, topping the figures for 2001 by nearly 10 percent. Air cargo transport increased by 20 percent in the period 2001-2004 and totalled 1.5 million tonnes in 2004.

Most passengers travel to European destinations

Thirty million passengers did not travel beyond Europe, whereas 14 million boarded intercontinental flights. The upward trend in passengers travelling to European destinations continued and appears to be hardly affected by 9-11, the war in Iraq or the SARS epidemic. The number of passengers on intercontinental flights, on the other hand, was indeed affected by these incidents.

Air passenger transport by continent

Passenger transport to and from North America recovers

Passenger transport to and from North America fell by 15 percent in the period 2001-2003.Over the same period the transport of passengers to Asia initially decreased slightly in 2002, subsequently in 2003 by nearly 10 percent.

The number of passengers on intercontinental flights appears to have all but recovered in 2004. The number of passengers travelling to North America picked up. However, levels are not yet as high as in 1999 and 2000. In recent years, the sharpest increase, by over 60 percent since 1997, was found in the number of passengers travelling to and from Africa.

Asia most important destination for air cargo

More than 95 percent of cargo transported to and from Dutch airports, over 1.5 million tonnes in 2004, comes from or goes to other continents. Over half of all cargo transported by air concerns goods exported to or imported from Asia. The amount of air cargo transported to and from Asia totalled 790 thousand tonnes; 450 thousand tonnes were unloaded and 340 tonnes were loaded in the Netherlands. Most goods are transported to destinations in the Far East (Japan, China and Hong Kong) and the Middle East (United Arabic Emirates and Israel).

Air cargo transport by continent

Air freight shipped to and from North America has picked up since 2001 and reached 290 thousand tonnes in 2004. With nearly 200 thousand tonnes of air cargo shipped to Africa, this continent is still a small player, though growing steadily. Air cargo shipped to European destinations has been in decline for years and amounted to just under 70 thousand tonnes in 2004.

Air cargo transport by continent

Huub Coninx