Frankfurt Airport maintained the positive cargo trend in October 2026, with airfreight and airmail volumes totaling 187,701 tons, up 4.5% on the same month last year. The figures were released by airport operator Fraport in its latest traffic statistics.

The October reading continues a string of consecutive monthly increases. September saw a 2.5% year-on-year increase in cargo volumes to 174,773 tons, up from 179,400 tons in August, when they had increased 2.9%.

However, not all operational indicators reflected growth in freight activity. Frankfurt Airport recorded 40,498 aircraft movements – take-offs and landings – in October, a decrease of 4.7% on October 2025.

Accumulated maximum take-off weights (MTOW) also fell, down 1.6% year-on-year to around 2.5 million tons.

Fraport continues cargo development strategy

In addition to the growth in freight volumes, Fraport is also working with its dedicated Cargo Development team to further strengthen Frankfurt Airport’s position as a leading air cargo hub.

The department deals with several strategic areas, including infrastructure development, digitalization, operational process optimization and cargo marketing. This includes close collaboration with partners across the airport’s cargo ecosystem.

An important step in this strategy was the appointment of Felix Toepsch as Vise President Cargo Development at Fraport AG in September 2026. He is responsible for driving the airport’s cargo business and supporting its long-term growth.

Toepsch joined Fraport in 2013 and has previous experience from the Air Cargo Community Frankfurt where he was Executive Director from January 2023.

While in office he was involved with an organization that represents more than 115 companies in the airfreight supply chain. He advocated for the standardization of cargo processes and backed efforts to improve operational coordination, such as a common-use truck slot booking system.

Masterplan to cargohub vital for infrastructure upgrades

Fraport’s Cargo Development team is responsible for the execution of the airport’s CargoHub masterplan, a program aimed at improving the efficiency and competitiveness of Frankfurt’s cargo business.

The initiative is focused on improving utilization of existing cargo space, development of airport infrastructure and introduction of digital solutions and improvements in operational processes.

These priorities are consistent with Fraport’s overall strategy to stimulate cargo growth through investment in infrastructure, process improvements and enhanced cooperation between all actors in the air cargo supply chain.

Frankfurt Airport's October figures demonstrate the strength of its cargo activity, with cargo volumes growing for a third consecutive month, while aircraft movements and accumulated maximum take-off weights declined year-on-year.