Decrease in Goods Transported by Air via Aalborg Airport

Wings to Wheels
(A study of decrease in number of goods transported by air via Aalborg Airport)
Ishita Sharma
Msc (Mobilities and Urban Studies)

Introduction
Transportation of cargo by air has facilitated trade contributing to economic development
globally and enhancement of job creation. Delivery of high quality products at competitive
prices to consumers worldwide is key in the growth of global economy (Merkert, Van de
Voorde and de Wit, 2017). Based on statistics, air cargo transport facilitates delivery of 6
trillion US dollars worth of goods, which is approximately 35% of global trade. Goods such
as vaccines and other pharmaceuticals that are temperature- sensitive are transported through
airlines helping to curb many deaths across the world (Feng, Li and Shen, 2015. Aalborg is
one among many airports that facilitate the growth of air transport and the economy at large.
The growing technology has led to a tremendous rise in the number of companies and airlines
in air transport, which increases competition. As a result, some of the airports such as
Aalborg are facing challenges of cargo decline for the last few years. There are several
reasons behind this decline ranging from skyrocketing fuel prices, competition, high security
threats within the industry, inefficient supply chains, low demand for airfreight, all of which
have slowed down the growth of cargo in Aalborg airport (Cochrane Saxe, Roorda and
Shalaby, 2017. Aalborg airport is unable to curb these challenges due to its poor
infrastructure set up. This paper seeks to discuss in details the reasons behind the shrinkage in
cargo while analysing clearly the emerging issues within the airport, and the influence of
improved infrastructure on cargo transport through air. Appropriate methodology and data
collection processes will be utilized to curb the same. Based on the study, a conclusion will
be drawn and future recommendations made.
Analysis
The review conducted reveals that there has been changes in the cargo industry leading to the
changes in demand. In the past, cargo was transported in smaller sizes making it costly with
the aim of meeting fast deliveries. Larger volumes of capital were essential, and hence only
few airlines would afford such huge capital investments. Current trends show improvements
such as development of headwinds to increase air capacity (Kupfer, Meersman, Onghena and
Van de Voorde, 2017). Despite these developments, a slow growth in air cargo transport is
noted since 2015, which creates attention for research.
The theory of demand states that demand for a commodity is influenced by several factors,
which will be discussed below. The first key determinant of demand is the price with an
increase in price leading to a low demand. Increase in fuel prices as mentioned in the review
has affected the cargo industry by shifting demand to other cheaper options. Aalborg is said
to be expensive and only used by few airlines that can afford the high costs. The fact that
demand decreases in Aalborg airport after the opening of Storebaelt Bridge connects with the
review that a shift is made to other options once consumers feel that the prices are too high.
Secondly, harsh weather conditions in North America affected the demand for air cargo
transport. The analysis shows that the demand in Aalborg airport is high in summer periods
compared to winter season. Consumers mainly trade more during the hot season than the cold
season. Thirdly, exit of some regions from the trading zone has been cited as an influence on
trade. For example, the exit of Greek from the Euro-zone affected the demand levels. In our