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's top 20 air cargo centres handled about 54.8 million tonnes in 2021, representing 44 per cent of the total global air cargo volume in 2021, up 14.7 per cent from 47.7 million tonnes handled in 2020. This is an increase of 13.4 percent compared to 2019 before the new crown.

cargo airports have an element of double counting, as the volume of exports from one hub is the volume of imports from another, but unlike passenger statistics, most air cargo is transported in one direction, providing a more realistic representation.

Asia

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) regained its longtime number one cargo hub position in 2021 with just over 5 million tonnes of cargo, replacing US rival Memphis Airport, which has temporarily moved up from its traditional number two position.

12.5 percent higher than in 2020, when it lagged behind Memphis. In 2020, Hong Kong handled only 145,000 tonnes less freight than a large US hub for courier and e-commerce giant FedEx., Hong Kong has performed better this year than Shanghai airports in mainland China, even though Shanghai airports ranked third in 2021.

How will the new crown perform in 2022? Hong Kong International Airport said when it released its August statistics that Hong Kong's cargo throughput fell by 11.1 to 2.8 million tons in the first eight months of this year. In comparison, Memphis is down 10% over the same period this year.

Hong Kong International Airport added: "Cargo volumes have been impacted by global economic uncertainty, ongoing geopolitical tensions and disruptions to global supply chains. compared with the same month last year,exports and imports fell by 25% and 20% respectively."Freight traffic in and out of key trading areas in North America and Europe fell the most."

While it is difficult to say what the rest of 2022 will hold for Hong Kong and the rest of the global air cargo industry, Watts said: "We are cautiously optimistic that this year will see a solid peak. Nonetheless, we are mindful of global economic headwinds and a different environment this year, with peaks unlikely to be as deep or as long as in 2021." The biggest question is, when will China, the world's factory, be fully opened without a partial blockade?

in other parts of Asia,Singapore Changi Airport's volume in the second quarter of 2022 was 469,000 tons, down 1.4 percent year-on-year., Singapore's top five air cargo markets for the quarter were China, Hong Kong, Australia, the United States and Japan.

Tokyo Narita Airport's passenger traffic in the first eight months of 2022 is down 3.6 percent compared to the previous year..as the global hinterland network regained its momentum, this is good news for the airline industry and the air cargo hub.

Europe

For Europe, Frankfurt remains number one, followed by Paris CDG, Amsterdam Schiphol and Leipzig.. In Europe, Frankfurt's freight volume fell by 11.5 in the first half of 2022 compared with the same period last year, to about 1 million tons in the first half of 2022. Freight volumes in Leipzig, also a German hub, rose only 0.2 per cent to 767,560 tonnes in the first half of 2022, a slowdown from 7.3 per cent growth in the first quarter of this year.

a sign of the future of Europe's number one cargo airport, the Frankfurt-basedLufthansa Cargo continues to invest in its freighter fleet and will add four Airbus A321 passenger-to-cargo aircraft by the first half of 2023.

LH Airlines increased by € 1 billion to a record € 3.8 billion in 2021, having ordered three B777Fs and seven B777-8F with new technology in May this year, while extending the lease of two B777Fs.

Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport underperformed in the first half of 2022, with cargo traffic down 13.8 percent compared to 2021, with inbound cargo down 17.5 percent,outbound cargo decreased by 9.7 percent. Freighters accounted for 65 per cent of the total volume, with the remainder being passenger belly cabins.

it's hard to predict what the top 20 cargo airports league table will look like in 2022, it's unlikely to change significantly at the top end, and new challengers could push downstream. The headwinds for all major cargo hubs are whether rising jet fuel prices, rising interest rates and ongoing conflicts in Europe will lead to a sharp economic downturn.