Jomo Kenyatta International Airport handled the most cargo compared to all airports in Africa in 2021 as normalcy in international travel resumed after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Data from the Airports Council International (ACI) shows that a total of 363,204 tonnes of cargo passed through the airport in the period under review.
"As we slowly return to the norm, I am glad to inform you that Kenya’s JKIA emerged as the busiest in handling cargo in Africa," Kenya Airports Authority acting general manager Jacob Bwana said on Wednesday.
According to ACI, flowers and vegetables accounted for 79 per cent of the total export volumes, the equivalent of 28,695 tonnes of the total cargo.
Prior to the interruption of air travel around the world that was occasioned by the pandemic in early 2020, JKIA was the 2nd fastest growing airport in the world by cargo ranking.
ACI said in its World Airport Traffic Report for 2018 that JKIA took the position after handling over 342,000 metric tonnes of cargo in 2018, a 25 per cent growth from 2017.
The report said in the report majority of the air cargo originated from Europe, Asia, America, China and Australia.
