Liège Airport (LGG) – Cargoland’s growth figures are impressive: From JAN25 to JUN25, its throughput was up 10% year-over year, totaling 626,690 tons, versus 568,776 tons in the first half of 2024. This means that the airport is already well ahead of expectations for the entire year, as the peak season is still to come in the third and particularly the fourth quarters of this year.
In terms of cargo throughput, Liège tops the European cargo airports. The Walloon airport’s stunning growth is based on a number of favorable factors, contrasting the situation of competitors: Liège’s management is focused on air freight and quickly removes hurdles that would otherwise torpedo development. Its masterplan sets a clear course for the proactive expansion of the ground infrastructure based on demand. This results in sufficient capacity for the handling of imports and exports and includes special services, symbolized by the Horse Inn, where race and competition horses are prepared for the flight by professional attendants and grooms. Added to this is the extremely favorable geographical location in the middle of the industrial triangle between the Benelux countries, Germany and northern France. The political support of the Walloon government, for whom Liège has become a logistical showcase project, is another extremely important factor for the advance of the site. And, last but not least, the airport also benefits from external factors beyond its influence, such as the discussion about slot cuts in Amsterdam, which has already led to the exit of some cargo airlines from Schiphol.
Long-term vision inspires customers
Hence, there are many favorable factors contributing to Liège’s ascent as a cargo airport. The recently founded Cargo Community “Liège Connect” (https://cargoforwarder.eu/2025/02/23/exclusive-Liège-establishes-cargo-community/ ) is another tool to further stimulate the location’s development.
Against this backdrop, it is hardly surprising that management is looking ahead with great confidence, as Torsten Wefers, VP Sales & Marketing, says: “With our new brand “Cargoland” where “Freight meets Magic”, we are the air cargo place to be in Europe with new airlines (from 41 to 51) and new logistics providers (from 50 to 61). From MRO to e-commerce, pharma and perishables, to express cargo, Cargoland offers commodity-specific, tailored cargo processes based on advanced technology, whether it is strong digital tracking of shipments or GSE, optimum route planning, or real-time cargo movement management. Cargoland is offering multimodal solutions and will deliver a success and customer-oriented commercial approach that will leave a lasting imprint on the European logistics landscape.”
Mastering external challenges
The fact is that LGG is not facing any weakness, despite geopolitical uncertainty, customs tariffs disputes, the U.S. dollar’s worst first-half-year performance since 1973, unrest in the Middle East and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. So far, these negative factors have not affected Liège’s freight business. On the contrary,since JAN25, more than 101,000 tons of imports and exports transited through the freight terminals, representing a growth of 34.5% compared with the same period in 2024 (75,000 tons)!
In view of these figures, a coherent business model and the optimistic outlook, CEO Laurent Jossart, Sales Chief Torsten Wefers and Co. can rightly say: “The sky is our limit.”
