Liege Airport (LGQ) has reported a total cargo throughput exceeding one million tonnes by September 2026. This achievement is notable as it occurred despite a substantial 42% decrease in small parcel volumes. The decline in small parcels is primarily linked to the implementation of a new tax in Belgium targeting such shipments.
Conversely, the airport experienced an 18.5% rise in export volumes, which helped offset the reduction in smaller packages. This performance highlights the resilience of the air cargo sector and indicates evolving trends within e-commerce logistics, where the composition of goods being shipped may be changing.
For freight forwarders and operations managers, this data suggests a potential shift in demand towards larger, consolidated cargo shipments via air, possibly moving away from individual small parcels. This could influence capacity planning and pricing strategies for different types of air cargo. Forwarders might need to adapt their services to cater to this changing mix, focusing on general cargo and export-oriented solutions rather than solely on high-volume small parcel movements.
