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Liege Airport cargo growth flatlines following EU e-commerce charge

Cargo specialist Liege Airport has been one of Europe's fastest-growing freight hubs in recent years but the European Union's introduction of a charge on low-value parcels has put the brakes on growth. The Belgian airport today released its traffic figures for the third quarter of the year, which showed that cargo volumes were 0.1% down year on year at 334,950 tonnes, while aircraft movements dropped by 6% compared with last year to 6,826. To put the fall in context, the airport registered an 11% year-on-year increase in cargo volumes in the first half of the year. Liege said the fall in movements is mainly due to the introduction, on 1 July 2026, of a €3 tax on imported parcels valued at less than €150. The charge was introduced to try and stem the flow of e-commerce goods into the bloc. Since its introduction, volumes of small parcels have fallen by 42%, directly affecting part of the e-commerce- related business and reducing the number of flights dedicated to this segment. However, the airport was also keen to point out that over the first nine months of the year, cargo volumes have continued to grow and are 7.3% ahead of last year's levels at just over 1m tonnes. Flight numbers are up 0.1% at 21,180. Liege Airport chief executive Laurent Jossart said: "The sluggish growth in the third quarter reflects the immediate impact of the new tax regime applied to small parcels. "However, when we look at the results since the start of the year, we can see that the airport continues to grow. We are recording stable traffic in terms of the number of movements, have passed the 1m tonne mark and are seeing particularly strong growth in exports. "These results demonstrate the resilience of our hub and the diversification of our cargo operations." The airport said that the growth levels registered over the first nine months of the year are driven in particular by strong export performance. Between January and September 2026, exports totalled 453,265 tonnes, compared with 382,299 tonnes a year earlier - an increase of 18.5%. Air Cargo News has requested the airport traffic figures for September. In August, the airport remarked that the new charge had "profoundly altered the structure of imports".

NSR box shipping test 'a success', but S Korean carriers are sceptical

South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung says he remains committed to establishing container shipping services between Busan and Europe via the Northern Sea Route by 2030, despite lukewarm commercial interest. He said ferry operator Panstar Line's test voyage, with the 2,758 teu Panstar Acro, helped pave the way for the commercial viability of Arctic shipping. The ship had arrived back in Busan on Sunday, after the 40-day round-trip to Felixstowe and Rotterdam. Although cargo volumes were below target, just 837 teu loaded on Panstar Acro, Mr Lee hailed the voyage as a success. He wrote on X: "The ship completed the journey to Europe in a mere 20 days via the Arctic, whereas the Suez Canal route would have taken almost a month. We will continue to prepare for an Arctic shipping era, and this test trip would create new opportunities for businesses." Rising global temperatures have melted more Arctic ice, making the Northern Sea Route (NSR) seem a feasible substitute for the Suez Canal, particularly given the Red Sea crisis and US/Israel-Iran tensions. Promoting Arctic shipping also aligns with the government's plan to build an economic zone in the south, anchored by Busan, the nation's primary container port. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to analyse details of the voyage to determine how Arctic shipping could become more commercially viable. Yet enthusiasm among South Korean shipowners remains muted. At an industry gathering, they noted that, once the Middle East crisis was resolved, the NSR could cease to be an appealing alternative to the Suez Canal route. Shipping executives pointed out that the NSR could only be navigated between August and November, when the Arctic ice thaws enough to allow passage. Draught limitations also make it impossible to operate large containerships on the route, unlike through the canal. Notably, Panstar was the sole bidder when the ministry sought operators for the test voyage in May - prohibitive costs, including insurance and modifications for polar navigation, deterred other companies. In August, the Korea Maritime Institute released a study showing the cost per teu of operating containerships through the Arctic from Busan to Rotterdam was around 55% greater than going via Suez, cancelling the advantage of the shorter sailing time. During the "welcome-back" ceremony for Panstar Acro yesterday, President Lee said he was aware of commercial scepticism towards the NSR. He added: "There are people concerned about the costs, but when we gain more experience and attract more cargo on Arctic routes, we can reduce costs and increase trust in the service."

Gemini relaunch likely to add to congestion pressure at Khor Fakkan

Gemini may be relaunching connections between the Far East and Middle East this weekend, to restore direct ocean links, but after replacing Jebel Ali calls, Khor Fakkan appears to be showing signs of buckling under the pressure. As reported by The Loadstar yesterday, the relaunched service, marketed as AGX by Hapag-Lloyd and FM1 by Maersk, is set to operate under a revised rotation that sees Khor Fakkan replace Jebel Ali, because of the US-Iran war, but warning signs of congestion have appeared at the Emirati gateway. A Kuehne+Nagel update that Khor Fakkan and Fujairah "taking on a lot of the volumes shifted to ports outside the Strait of Hormuz in recent months" had led to congestion across the UAE's corridors, with the two ports now the "main pressure points in the region". It added: "Through Fujairah and Khor Fakkan, transit times vary by destination, while final-mile delivery and corridor connectivity remain under the control of UAE government-affiliated logistics providers. "However, as congestion in Jeddah decreases, we expect cargo flows to redistribute towards alternative gateways, including Jeddah, Aqaba, and Salalah. Looking ahead, we expect Khor Fakkan and Fujairah to remain under significant pressure in the coming weeks." This was also recognised by Maersk, which said in its latest operational update: "Vessel congestion and limited berth availability at Khor Fakkan, together with high yard utilisation, road congestion and extended truck waiting times, are delaying cargo clearance." Meanwhile, Expeditors has somewhat downplayed the extent of the problem, noting that "UAE gateways remain largely unaffected and outside the Strait risk area", but nonetheless added that Khor Fakkan and Fujairah were "showing signs of congestion". With Gemini's relaunched service scheduled for 17 October, on its Qingdao-Ningbo-Tanjung Pelepas-Khor Fakkan-Singapore-Qingdao rotation, the congestion issues have raised questions as to how beneficial the additional capacity will prove for shippers. Maersk said that it would be relocating some boxes to an inland container depot at Sajja, which it hoped would help ease pressure on the port, while it is planning for the possible redirection of some shipments to Jebel Ali. Even so, cargo arriving at ports still needs to reach its final destination, and hauliers and logistics operators have been crying out for support to provide additional hinterland connectivity, with trucking the most obvious solution. However accessing that capacity has become a key hurdle, with forwarders telling The Loadstar that, since the outset of the war, this capacity was being "hoovered up" by "forwarders with the biggest pockets, rather than shipments with the most need".