Incheon Airport Records Highest Ever International Air Cargo Volume of 790,000 Tons in Q1 This Year

Aerial view of Incheon Airport Cargo Terminal

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Incheon International Airport Corporation announced on the 14th that the volume of international air cargo in the first quarter of this year recorded the highest performance for the same quarter since the opening of Incheon Airport in 2001.

The volume of international air cargo at Incheon Airport Corporation in the first quarter of this year was 786,396 tons, an 18.3% increase compared to the same period last year (664,883 tons). This figure is about 13% higher than the previous record of 696,048 tons in the first quarter of 2018.

Last month's monthly cargo volume recorded 287,989 tons, setting a new monthly record since the airport's opening, and on February 4th, the daily cargo volume reached 11,332 tons, breaking the daily record again.

Incheon Airport Corporation analyzed that the recent increase in air cargo volume was driven by a significant rise in new growth cargo such as cross-border e-commerce goods and pharmaceuticals after COVID-19, combined with the economic recovery, which boosted demand for air cargo transportation.

The focus of airlines on cargo business amid the gap in belly cargo (air cargo transported using passenger aircraft cargo holds) due to the suspension of passenger flights also had a positive impact on the growth trend. Cargo flights at Incheon Airport surged by 136% compared to the previous year as of this month.

The sharp increase in air cargo volume is expected to continue for the time being. This is because, due to the nature of air cargo, the growth trend is generally higher in the second half of the year than in the first half. The corporation forecasted that Incheon Airport's cargo volume could reach a cumulative 50 million tons by August this year, earlier than initially expected.

Lee Hee-jung, Head of Future Business Division at Incheon International Airport Corporation, said, "As air cargo transportation is increasing worldwide, the volume of international cargo at Incheon Airport this year is also expected to reach an all-time high of 3 million tons annually. With many changes anticipated in the global air cargo market due to post-COVID and the 4th Industrial Revolution, we plan to further solidify our position as a global logistics hub airport through timely expansion of logistics infrastructure and efforts to attract global corporate distribution centers."

Meanwhile, Incheon Airport, which opened in 2001, achieved 2.82 million tons of international air cargo volume last year based on timely expansion of air cargo infrastructure and active marketing activities, ranking 3rd in the world according to the Airport Council International (ACI) standards.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.