Frankfurt Airport sees stable cargo performance in October

Frankfurt Airport’s cargo volumes held largely steady in October, with only a marginal year-on-year decline as global supply-chain disruptions eased toward the end of the month.

Airport operator Fraport said the hub handled 179.4 metric tonnes of freight during October, down just 0.1% compared with the same month last year. The company noted that throughput was initially weighed down by the extended holiday shutdown in China.

According to Fraport, China’s 2025 Golden Week, which overlapped with the Mid-Autumn Festival, created an unusually long eight-day operational slowdown (October 1–8). The reduced manufacturing output and flight cancellations during this period suppressed early-month cargo flows before demand rebounded in the final weeks.

Fraport added that changes in the US de minimis import exemption have also reshaped global e-commerce patterns. The new rules triggered a drop in online retail shipments from China and Hong Kong to the United States but also fueled a rise in flows from these markets into Europe.

Traffic with China remained a bright spot for Frankfurt, with volumes climbing 19%, supported by strong growth in both inbound and outbound shipments. Overall Far East tonnage increased 3.7%, while Middle East cargo slipped 5.3% due to reduced freighter capacity, particularly on Qatar Airways routes.

In North America, inbound freight to Frankfurt continued to grow, but outbound volumes to the US softened further. Coupled with a slightly larger decline in shipments to Canada, total North American traffic dipped 0.4%.

Flows to Latin America fell only 0.9%, buoyed by a 14.2% jump in cargo to Mexico that helped offset weakness in other markets. Africa-bound traffic decreased 4.1%, and intra-European volumes contracted 2.8%. Domestic German freight saw a strong 17.1% rise, but this gain was overshadowed by sharp declines on routes to Turkey, down 15.7%.

The October figures follow a 0.6% year-on-year increase in September, driven largely by Asia-related shipments, even as other regional markets remained subdued.