Following strong growth in September, Milan Malpensa Airport’s cargo volumes surged by 15 per cent in October to 53,000 tonnes, a monthly record.

The airport, which handles 56 per cent of Italy’s air cargo, saw imports shoot up 22 per cent while exports grew 13 per cent compared to October 2015, which it says was a previous record high. Volumes did not dip below 1,000 tonnes per day and 2,000 tonnes was regularly surpassed on busy weekends.

Malpensa says Asian flights registered a 21 per cent increase, with the Middle East growing 15 per cent, and Africa was strong, up 12.7 per cent. The particularly strong growth in September and October has increased year-to-date volumes by 6.4 per cent.

Milan Malpensa has been growing strongly, with a nine per cent increase in 2015 pushing volumes over 500,000 tonnes. The airport handles more than 200 cargo flights a week, and in 2015 cargo flights increased 16 per cent to 10,140. Express couriers are of growing importance, accounting for 33 per cent of traffic, a 50 per cent year-on-year increase.