Jomo Kenyatta International Airport has topped Africa’s cargo traffic, emerging as the busiest in freight handling despite Kenya Airways trailing with a small share of the cargo.
The world airport traffic dataset from Airports Council International (ACI), a lobby for airports, indicated that JKIA handled 363,000 metric tonnes in 2022 leading other major airports in Africa in total cargo.
The world airport traffic dataset by ACI offers a simplified view of air transport demand across global airports in three areas: passengers, air cargo and aircraft movements.
The Air Traffic Performance for Africa 2022 by ACI, showed that 363,000 metric tonnes of cargo transited through the JKIA.
Of the 363,000 metric tonnes, the national carrier only had an 18 percent share of the total cargo, indicating the gap in cargo business for the local airlines.
Allan Kilavuka, chief executive at KQ told The EastAfrican in 2022: “We believe we command 10 percent of the uptake from JKIA, which of course, can be improved.”
“One of the reasons is that we don’t have capacity. We need to build capacity in the next five years to take a lot more of that market share.”
The JKIA was followed by Cairo International Airport at 334,000 metric tonnes.
South Africa Oliver Reginald Tambo International Airport, the hub for South African Airways, came third in cargo haulage after 304,000 metric tonnes transiting through it.
Addis Ababa Bole International Airport the primary hub for Ethiopian Airlines was ranked fourth busiest after handling 226,000 metric tonnes of cargo in 2022.
In April 2024, KQ received a second freighter Boeing 737-800 Freighter, increasing the cargo fleet to four.
Mr Kilavuka said: “We have made a commitment to gradually increase our cargo business, support our customers in their long-term needs, and deliver possibilities in the air.”
Notably, JKIA made the top 10 list of Africa’s busiest airports by passengers at 6.56 million in 2022.
