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Air cargo · Airports
Cargo airports, ranked by tonnage and by constraint
Top twenty cargo airports in 2025
| Rank | Airport | 2025 tonnes | Year on year | Versus 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hong Kong HKG | 5,066,345 | plus 2.7% | plus 5.3% |
| 2 | Shanghai Pudong PVG | 4,091,941 | plus 8.3% | plus 12.6% |
| 3 | Anchorage ANC | 3,854,614 | plus 4.2% | plus 40.4% |
| 4 | Louisville SDF | 3,396,437 | plus 13.5% | plus 21.7% |
| 5 | Miami MIA | 3,128,165 | plus 13.6% | plus 49.5% |
| 6 | Memphis MEM | 2,969,502 | minus 20.9% | minus 31.3% |
| 7 | Incheon ICN | 2,954,684 | plus 0.3% | plus 6.9% |
| 8 | Doha DOH | 2,614,214 | minus 0.1% | plus 18.0% |
| 9 | Taipei TPE | 2,499,899 | plus 10.1% | plus 14.6% |
| 10 | Guangzhou CAN | 2,439,248 | plus 2.4% | plus 27.0% |
| 11 | Dubai DXB | 2,146,173 | minus 1.4% | minus 14.7% |
| 12 | Chicago ORD | 2,125,628 | plus 2.5% | plus 20.9% |
| 13 | Tokyo Narita NRT | 2,097,966 | plus 4.7% | minus 0.3% |
| 14 | Singapore SIN | 2,093,900 | plus 4.3% | plus 1.8% |
| 15 | Los Angeles LAX | 2,070,220 | minus 4.8% | minus 1.0% |
| 16 | Shenzhen SZX | 2,061,455 | plus 9.6% | plus 60.6% |
| 17 | Frankfurt FRA | 2,026,789 | plus 1.8% | minus 3.1% |
| 18 | Istanbul IST | 1,980,600 | minus 0.2% | plus 288.8% |
| 19 | Paris CDG | 1,939,526 | plus 1.3% | minus 7.7% |
| 20 | London Heathrow LHR | 1,591,964 | plus 0.8% | minus 4.8% |
Constraint creates diversion, and diversion creates land value
Amsterdam Schiphol is the clearest case. On 11 March 2026 the Dutch Council of State annulled the government’s 2025 amendment imposing a 478,000-flight annual cap, finding the decision had not been carefully prepared and lacked sufficient reasoning, but maintained a temporary restriction of no more than 27,000 commercial movements a year between 23:00 and 07:00, which is the provision that actually binds freighter operators. On 24 March 2026 the government said it would hold to the 478,000 cap regardless. Cargo had already been leaking to other airports.
Liege is the proven beneficiary, growing 14% in 2025 to 1.3 million tonnes — the fastest growth of Europe’s ten largest cargo airports — and 11.3% in the first half of 2026 to 697,816 tonnes, on the back of a 500 million euro CargoLand programme and a deliberate shift to daytime-capable operations, now 65.5% of movements against 41% in 2020.
In the United States the analogue is Rockford. RFD handled 1.5 million tonnes in 2025, up 9.5%, drawing O’Hare-overflow freighter traffic, and Hillwood started Rockford Logistics Park 20 Phase 1, 334,800 square feet one mile from the airport, in July 2026 for an April 2027 opening. Rockford is explicitly targeting data center and AI heavy-lift business for the Iowa, Illinois and Indiana region.
Heathrow has no relief before roughly 2036. The board approved third-runway planning funding in January 2026, with planning consent targeted for 2029 and first flights around 2036. Heathrow is the United Kingdom’s biggest port by value at over 200 billion pounds of cargo annually, and that capacity shortage sustains a scarcity premium on a fixed on-airport estate.
Where capacity is being added at scale the risk runs the other way. Dubai Al Maktoum’s roughly $35 billion programme targets an ultimate 12 million tonnes of cargo a year, more than double current world-leader Hong Kong, with 68 billion dirhams, about $18.5 billion, committed as of August 2026, 17,000 piles installed, 45 million cubic metres of earth moved, and phase-one completion in 2032.
Verified airport-specific figures
Hong Kong handled 2.5 million tonnes in the first half of 2026, up 4.1%, with June at 436,000 tonnes, up 6.8%, and transshipments up 19.5%.
Liege handled 1.3 million tonnes in 2025, up 14%, and 697,816 tonnes in the first half of 2026, up 11.3%, with exports up 19%, Asia exports up 17% and North America up 51%.
Amsterdam Schiphol handled 1.43 million tonnes in 2025, 56% on dedicated freighters and 44% in bellies.
Rockford handled 1.5 million tonnes in 2025, up 9.5%, and is tracking a couple of percent below 2025 in 2026 on higher fuel costs.
San Francisco handled 541,998 tonnes in 2025.
For how facilities at these airports are developed and leased, see on-airport cargo facilities and ground leases.
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This research was produced by Landside Partners, a commercial real estate research and advisory firm working with owners of industrial land across North America on data center, seaport and air-cargo demand. To have a specific parcel assessed, contact Brad Cohen at Landside Partners.
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