Mexico City; Bogotá, Colombia; Lima, Peru; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Sao Paulo, Brazil , are among the top 10 routes from Latin America moving cargo to Madrid-Barajas International Airport, according to the Madrid Airport 2024 Annual Air Cargo Report, compiled by the Air Cargo Observatory of the MADCargo Forum .
According to the report, Sao Paulo showed 43% growth in 2024 compared to 2023; Buenos Aires followed with 41%. Meanwhile, Mexico City recorded a 5% decline during the period.
The top 10 routes are led by Doha Airport, the hub of Qatar Airways , with a 38 percent increase, followed by Istanbul IST with a 59 percent increase.
The airlines with the greatest growth in cargo handling during the period were Iberia , with a 16% increase, followed by Air Europa with 12%. Qatar Airways Cargo remained in third place with 33%, while Air China, with 40%, surpassed DHL , which registered a 2% increase.
“The fastest-growing airline is Silk Way West Airlines, with 69% of its shares entering the top 10, ranking eighth, which led to Aeroméxico ‘s exit ,” he said.
“Air cargo with Latin America and the Caribbean represents 43.6% of Madrid’s non-EU cargo. The six airports with the largest cargo volumes handle 68% of Madrid’s total cargo with the region, while the 13 main airports account for 84.6% of the total,” he emphasized.
Among the most frequently transported products were food, machinery and electronic equipment, fashion and textiles and leather, perfumes, and pharmaceuticals, among others.
The document detailed that the share of cargo transported by carriers with cargo aircraft in Madrid is 39%, compared to 61% in the hold of passenger aircraft during the same period . “This figure was only surpassed in the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 47%, due to the sharp drop in passenger traffic.”
At the end of 2024, air cargo at Madrid airport experienced significant growth , ending the period with 766,800 tonnes , exceeding 2023 by 19.2% and 2022 by 35.4%, and reaching a 67% share of air cargo traffic on international routes in the Aena airport network .
With this data, this infrastructure ranks 10th among European airports in terms of air cargo, and has continued to grow since 2021, surpassing its competing European airports.
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