Connectivity in the Spanish air freight transport sector: 2004-2014

Abstract

Air cargo transport segment in airlines, as a petitioner and user of airport services, has grown in the last two decades until being a key part of the global supply network in Spain.

            The goal of this article is to analyze the evolution of the connectivity of this logistic mode, along the 2004-2014 period, using the database of the Observatory for the Transport and the Logistics in Spain on airport cargo positions of arrival and departure.

            The results show that, in the biggest Spanish airports (Madrid, Barcelona, Zaragoza and Vitoria), it’s been a recovering of the cargo throughput reaching pre-crisis levels, however this has not been accompanied by a recovering in terms of centrality, with the exception of Zaragoza, which  stands as the only infrastructure currently showing more resilience and better perspectives in this aspect.