On 31 December, Assaeroporti released its annual report on freight traffic at Italian airports, showing a 6.8% rise in volumes compared to the previous year. In total, airports handled 1,249,589 tonnes, with 1,178,391 tonnes transported by air, 19,947 tonnes moved by surface, and 51,236 tonnes in postal shipments. This marks the highest figure since 2000, when Italian airports handled 802,000 tonnes. The one-million-tonne threshold was first surpassed in 2016, reaching 1.043 million tonnes, while the previous record dates back to 2017, when 1.150 million tonnes were transported.
July was the best-performing month of 2024, with 115,948 tonnes handled, closely followed by October with 115,028 tonnes. Other months exceeding 100,000 tonnes included May (112,344 tonnes), June (110,929 tonnes), March (107,892 tonnes), September (104,699 tonnes), April (103,716 tonnes), November (103,566 tonnes), and December (101,641 tonnes). The remaining months recorded slightly above 90,000 tonnes.
Malpensa firmly retained its position as Italy's leading cargo airport, handling 731,641 tonnes, followed by Fiumicino with 271,580 tonnes. In a distant third place was Venice, with 61,597 tonnes, followed by Bologna (56,731 tonnes), Brescia (38,568 tonnes), and Bergamo (22,964 tonnes). In terms of annual variations, Malpensa grew by 8.9%, while Fiumicino saw an impressive 43% increase. Other top airports also recorded solid growth compared to 2023: Venice rose by 30.1%, Bologna by 11.2%, Brescia by 9.4%, and Bergamo by 8.8%.
Among smaller airports in terms of freight traffic, Lamezia Terme recorded an annual increase of 6.2% to 1,773 tonnes, Linate grew by 1.4% to 2,123 tonnes, Olbia surged by 46.4% to 1,322 tonnes, Pisa increased by 1.3% to 12,967 tonnes, Taranto Grottaglie saw a 29.5% rise to 2,216 tonnes, and Verona experienced an 87.9% jump to 816 tonnes. Conversely, some airports suffered a decline in cargo volumes, including Bari (-6.3% to 2,319 tonnes), Cagliari (-26.4% to 4,023 tonnes), Catania (-21.9% to 5,146 tonnes), Genoa (-34.8% to 826 tonnes), Naples (-13.1% to 9,467 tonnes), Palermo (-15.1% to 1,445 tonnes), Turin (-25.8% to 474 tonnes), and Trieste (-33.3% to 134 tonnes).
