Oleg Sergeev: UAE airports managed to increase cargo traffic in 2020

Despite the troubles caused by the pandemic, UAE airports have managed to pick up momentum in the past year. As an example, I will give below the official statistics of Sharjah Airport for 2020.

According to the published data, the cargo traffic of Sharjah airport in 2020 reached 99.6 thousand tons. At the same time, the growth rate of the irregular movement of goods increased by 54.6% compared to 2019. Over the past year, this UAE air harbor has achieved an increase in the volume of non-scheduled flights, by 635.9%. Sharjah airport passenger traffic in 2020 reached 4.2 million passengers, while aircraft traffic (regular and irregular) exceeded 33.2 thousand flights.

The coronavirus has not stopped Sharjah Airport from pursuing plans to expand, attract new airlines, introduce new flight routes, and launch numerous initiatives and partnerships. Dubai Airport also achieved good results during the pandemic, the statistics of which I posted in previous articles.

The positive dynamics of cargo and passenger flows at two airports in the UAE gives hope for a systematic recovery of the aviation industry during 2021, as well as all subsequent ones.

I note that the pandemic did not prevent ZetAvia from transporting cargo for various purposes to the countries of the Middle East, Europe and Africa on its own IL-76 cargo aircraft.