Challenges for Germany’s air freight industry
The volume of air cargo volumes handled at Germany’s airports has declined. The member companies of the German Association of Air Cargo Handlers (Vacad) handled a total of 1,766,739 t in 2022, around 9% less than in 2021.
After a record increase in 2021 (plus 24%) due to the corona crisis, cargo volumes are calming down and have dropped below pre-crisis levels for the first time. The Chinese lockdown, the war in Ukraine, inflation, and a levelling off of global economic development have, for the time being, curbed the previously extremely high demand for air freight around the world.
Vacad members are seeing staff numbers grow. At 3,269, the number of employees is 4% above the 3,114 reported in 2021. Despite the current drop in tonnages, it remains very important to attract additional staff to the cargo handling industry. (cj)