Heavy fog led to flight cancellations at the begin of March, but the number of air transport movements rose nonetheless, by +1.6%. The growth in passenger numbers was due to larger aircraft and an improved load factor Growth in O&D* and transfer passengers remained steady at +7.9% and +7.4%, respectively.
Cargo
The number of cargo flights dropped in March by -10.8%. Full freighters saw a slightly higher load factor, however, thus limiting the overall decline to -4.7%. In spite of growth in passenger movements, belly freight volume (in passenger aircraft) was down, putting the total cargo volume at -4.8% less than in the same period last year.
Passenger destinations
Nearly 3.9 million passengers travelled within Europe, an increase of +7.2%. Nearly all countries experienced growth in traffic. The fastest-growing routes were to Eastern Europe: Slovenia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Poland (Katowice, Kraków and Warsaw). Intercontinental traffic grew by +8.9%, with traffic to and from India profiting from the new connection to Bangalore. Other major destinations recording double-digit growth were Mexico, Morocco, Brazil and Egypt.
Click here for a complete overview of traffic and transport figures for March 2018.
*O&D passengers starting (departure) or ending (arrival) their trip at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.