19 “all cargo” airlines were operating out of Malpensa airport at December 31, 2018. The Malpensa cargo business is distributed among a large number of carriers; in 2018, 67% of the total cargo transported was shared by over 13 airlines. Among these was the leading international operator Cargolux, which maintained its lead despite a 15.8% drop in transported tonnage compared with 2017. The highest growth was recorded by Saudi Arabian Airlines and Turkish Airlines (equal to equal to +27.5% and +22.3% on 2017 respectively).
Overall, all cargo movements (freighters + couriers), the main driver of the cargo business, grew by 2.6% (+284 movements).
Malpensa – Volumes moved by the main cargo airlines (tons)
| Carrier | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cargolux Group | 89,993 | 106,886 | 94,919 |
| Air Bridge Cargo Airlines | 57,462 | 53,527 | 49,527 |
| Qatar Airways | 45,027 | 44,094 | 38,817 |
| Federal Express Corporation | 33,865 | 34,649 | 33,188 |
| European Air Transport | 29,682 | 28,752 | 29,334 |
| Silk Way Group | 23,654 | 23,224 | 23,774 |
| Saudi Arabian Airlines | 20,722 | 16,248 | 10,522 |
| Turkish Airlines | 20,477 | 16,741 | 10,167 |
| Asiana Airlines | 14,087 | 13,786 | 11,545 |
| Cathay Pacific Airways | 11,852 | 10,593 | 8,490 |
| Nippon Cargo Airlines | 11,663 | 23,520 | 20,554 |
| Korean Air | 9,993 | 11,751 | 13,576 |
| Southern Air | 5,672 | 5,061 | - |
| Others (*) | 21,681 | 32,297 | 42,783 |
| Total “all cargo” activities (**) | 395,830 | 421,129 | 387,196 |
| Total Malpensa cargo activities | 558,218 | 576,539 | 536,682 |
(*) The traffic share of “Other carriers” for the years 2016 and 2017 changed due to a change in the top 10 carriers.
(**) The figure concerns volumes moved within “all cargo” activities only
Source: SEA
The following table lists the top 10 airlines operating out of Malpensa in 2018 in terms of percentage volumes of total cargo.
Malpensa - % of cargo moved by the leading 10 cargo airlines
| Carrier | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cargolux Group | 16.1 | 18.5 | 17.7 |
| Qatar Airways | 11.9 | 10.4 | 9.7 |
| Air Bridge Cargo Airlines | 10.3 | 9.3 | 9.2 |
| Federal Express | 6.1 | 6.0 | 6.2 |
| European Air Transport | 5.3 | 5.1 | 5.4 |
| Emirates | 4.8 | 5.0 | 5.5 |
| Turkish Airlines | 4.6 | 3.3 | 2.5 |
| Silk Way West Airlines | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.4 |
| Cathay Pacific Airways | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
| Saudi Arabian Airlines | 3.7 | 2.8 | 2.2 |
| Other airlines | 29.2 | 32.1 | 33.9 |
Source: SEA