Determinants of air cargo traffic in Europe: Intercontinental flights, competition and airlines’ business model

In this paper, we examine the determinants of air cargo traffic in European airports from 2002 to 2019 by estimating a two-way fixed effects model. We focus on the correlation between air cargo and key attributes of passenger services at airports, including the number of non-stop intercontinental de...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Fageda, Xavier, 1975-, Gonzalez Aregall, Marta
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2025
Country:España
Institution:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repository:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:2445/225748
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/225748
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Transport aeri
Línies aèries
Commercial aeronautics
Airlines
Description
Summary:In this paper, we examine the determinants of air cargo traffic in European airports from 2002 to 2019 by estimating a two-way fixed effects model. We focus on the correlation between air cargo and key attributes of passenger services at airports, including the number of non-stop intercontinental destinations, the share of network airlines, and the intensity of competition.  We consider different samples with a special attention to mid-sized airports located in relatively big cities. We find that the availability of direct flights to North America, East Asia, and the Middle East has a positive impact on air cargo. A higher percentage of flights offered by network airlines leads to more air cargo as well. However, we also find that competition stimulates air cargo, meaning that medium-sized airports can benefit from a greater presence of non-European network airlines.