Top 20 cargo airports handled 53.1m tonnes as Memphis slid 20.9%

The world's 20 largest cargo airports handled 53.1m tonnes in 2025 — close to 41% of a global air cargo market that grew 3.3% year on year to a record 131.2m tonnes, according to the 2026 ACI World Airport Traffic Dataset released in July.

The growth figure deserves scrutiny. A 3.3% gain on 2024 looks solid, but global GDP expanded by around 3–3.2% in 2025 — above expectations, yet below historical norms. Air cargo barely outpaced the underlying economy, and the composition of that growth was uneven: international freight rose 4.2% while domestic freight declined 1.8%, a split ACI attributes to cross-border e-commerce, high-value and time-sensitive shipments, and restructured supply chains.

Which airports top the 2025 rankings?

Hong Kong International Airport retained first place with 5.1m tonnes, up 2.7% year on year. Shanghai Pudong held second at 4.1m tonnes, up 8.3%. Ted Stevens Anchorage International rose from fourth to third on volumes of 3.9m tonnes, up 4.2%.

The Anchorage figure carries a caveat ACI itself flags. Unlike other airports in the dataset, Anchorage reports total cargo including transit freight, and some 70–80% of its volume is transit traffic — freight that stays aboard or transfers between aircraft mid-journey.

Alaska International Airport System director Angie Spear said: "Unlike airports where most cargo originates or terminates in the local market, a significant portion of the cargo moving through Anchorage continues onward to destinations around the world. Anchorage is not simply serving a local cargo market; it functions as an international crossroads where global supply chains connect mid-journey."

What happened to Louisville and Memphis?

Louisville (3.4m tonnes) and Miami (3.1m tonnes) took fourth and fifth, each posting growth above 13% — the strongest in the top five. Louisville, home to UPS's global hub, set another record and beat its 2019 total by 21.7%. Miami's throughput was 49.5% above 2019 after six consecutive record years, and it now claims the title of busiest US airport for international freight.

Memphis tells the opposite story. The FedEx global hub saw volumes fall 20.9% year on year to just under 3m tonnes — 31.3% below its 2019 level. The decline is structural, not cyclical: according to the Global Cargo Hub Review by DePaul University's Chaddick Institute, UPS's Louisville facility has overtaken FedEx in Memphis as the world's busiest express air cargo hub, although FedEx still serves more airports nonstop than any other hub worldwide.

What are the big gateways building?

Hong Kong launched its Air-Land Fresh Lane in September 2025, moving chilled aquatic products, live seafood and fruit over the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge to Zhuhai customs clearance in as little as three hours after airborne arrival. New services included Hong Kong Air Cargo to Glasgow Prestwick, One Air from East Midlands via Liège, and an expanded Etihad Cargo schedule. This year Air China Cargo and Ethiopian Airlines added Prestwick freighters, Air Hong Kong leased an A330P2F, and Cathay Pacific firmed up two A350Fs in May.

At Pudong, PACTL relocated and upgraded its Cross-Border E-Commerce Handling Center to roughly 4,170 sq m — a 40% expansion — with doubled daily handling capacity. "With expanded space, upgraded equipment and enhanced digital capabilities, the centre is now better equipped to support efficient and reliable cross-border e-commerce operations," PACTL said.

What next for 2026?

ACI World director general Justin Erbacci, noting "increasing operational complexity," said governments "must prioritise sustained investment in airports and the broader aviation ecosystem" — a call that arrives as the association warns of a more uncertain, geographically uneven outlook. Global air cargo still grew around 3% in the first half of 2026 despite a substantial Middle East decline linked to the US–Iran conflict, but ACI cautions that disruptions may shift where cargo moves and through which hubs rather than dent global demand — meaning hub flexibility, not headline growth, is the variable to watch.