Photo: SHUTTERSTOCK Promising Recovery in Cargo Flights The month of April saw a promising recovery in cargo flights at Ben Gurion Airport, with an overall increase of approximately 11% compared to the same period last year. During the month, 30,799 tons of cargo were transported compared to 27,723 tons in April 2024.
Breaking down by types of transport, there was a significant increase of about 16.5% in cargo transported by passenger planes, with a total of 9,048 tons compared to 7,763 tons last April. In the cargo planes sector, there was a 9% increase with a total of 21,751 tons compared to 19,960 tons during the same period.
On Passenger Planes - El Al continues to lead in transporting cargo on passenger planes, holding an impressive 56% market share, despite a slight decline of approximately 0.2% compared to April last year. This past month, the company transported about 5,086 tons of cargo, compared to 5,097 tons in the previous year. The slight weakening is partly explained by the partial return to activity of foreign airlines and the increase in cargo planes.
United Airlines took the second spot with 10.1% of total cargo, representing 918 tons compared to only 209 tons last April – a sharp increase indicating significant expansion in activity. Following them, Hainan Airlines saw a 136.7% rise, transporting 613 tons compared to 259 tons last year.
On Cargo Planes - Among companies specializing in cargo flights, CAL continues to lead with 38.15% of the total cargo and an impressive 8,300 tons compared to 6,701 tons in April 2024 – an increase of 23.86%. El Al, in third place in this sector, recorded an impressive 41% surge in cargo transport, with 1,946 tons compared to 1,380 tons during the same period last year.
Following El Al is Centrum Air, which showed a dramatic increase of 328%, transporting 1,905 tons compared to 445 tons in April last year.