A spokesperson for the airport told Lloyd's Loading List.com that the decline was largely due to the general economic situation and also to the fact that 2011 had been a record year for traffic.
When compared with 2010, last year's traffic showed a fall of only 9% .
But Hahn was dealt a blow last week when one of its long-standing cargo airlines, Etihad Cargo, transferred its programme of four weekly freighter flights to Frankfurt Main.
The Hahn spokesperson declined to comment on Etihad Cargo's departure, but it was confirmed by the Gulf carrier's general sales agent in Germany, ATC Aviation Services.
"We don't know the reasons for the switch. The decision has come from Etihad Cargo's HQ in Abu Dhabi,"an official said.
Three of Etihad's Frankfurt-Abu Dhabi freighter flights are operated by A330Fs and the other by an MD-11F.
"It's more or less the same schedule as in Hahn, with some minor modification to take into account the night flight ban at Frankfurt Main," he added.
Etihad Airways also operates twice-daily passenger flights between Frankfurt and Abu Dhabi and also daily flights from Munich and Dusseldorf to the UAE capital.
A the end of August 2012, Hahn announced significant new cargo business with four carriers -- China's Yangtze River Express, myCARGO (a Turkish-Chinese operator), Navitrans (China) and Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) expected to operate up to 10 flights a week on intercontinental routes.
Several months on, three of the four carriers remain. Yangtze River Express flies five-times weekly between Hahn and Beijing, Navitrans, links New York, Hahn and Chengdu on a weekly basis while NCA flies twice-weekly between Hahn and Tokyo, having switched its overnight flights from Frankfurt Main.
The three carriers generate between 5,000 and 8 ,000 tonnes of cargo a month, the Hahn spokesperson confirmed. |
|
|
Source: llordloadinglist
|
|
