1254 | 590 | The role of Spanish airports in the transport of global cargo: a node between continents | Carlos López Escolano

The economic and social globalization has reshaped freight transport systems worldwide. Increasingly, companies and consumers demand a fast distribution of goods, that requires lower transport costs and higher speed, both essential aspects of our current global system. In this sense, air freight transport plays a fundamental role in the organisation of global cargo transport chain. Main airports handle most of the air cargo traffic worldwide, similarly to how passenger transport is organized, although we can find mixed airports (passenger and freight transport), as well as specialized cargo airports (with little relevance to passengers but essentials to ensure cargo flows). In any case, studying the main variables of air freight transport (flows, origins and destinations, type of goods, or location of the main cargo airports) allows us to approach a better understanding of the global economic system and its relationship with Geography._x000D_
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This work presents the role of Spanish airports for the global air cargo transport systems. Spain is an interesting case study to deepen a better knowledge of global transport systems. Its geographical location in the extreme southeast of Europe and close to North Africa, in addition to the excellent air connections with Latin America, make it possible to set up a unique air transport system, which is also of special interest for the air cargo geographies. In this context, firstly, this work reviews the situation and trajectory of freight traffic of Spanish airports between 2004 and 2022. Afterward, the analysis focus on a selection of the main freight airports, that serves as case studies to explore the type of flows, origin and destination, types of merchandise transported and type of airlines (specialized in cargo transport or mixed traffic). _x000D_

Carlos López Escolano
Universidad de Zaragoza (University of Zaragoza)
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