Freight - Air freight
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Freight measures for air freight
Air freight
Air freight also known as air cargo, includes the total tonnage shipped by airports. Air cargo is calculated as the weight of the plane plus cargo weight.
Source: Federal Aviation Administration.
Performance highlights
Overall air cargo tonnage shipped at Washington airports decreased 3.2% from 1.99 million short tons of cargo (plane plus cargo weight) in 2023 to 1.93 million tons in 2024. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport continued to handle the bulk of air cargo in the state in 2024, with 71.9% of the statewide total according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Overall air cargo tonnage shipped at Washington airports increased 0.4% from 1.99 million short tons of cargo (plane plus cargo weight) in 2022 to 2.00 million tons in 2023. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport continued to handle the bulk of air cargo in the state in 2023, with 69% of the statewide total according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Overall air cargo tonnage shipped at Washington airports decreased 5.2% to 1.99 million short tons of cargo (plane plus cargo weight) in 2022 from 2.1 million tons in 2021. Much of this decrease was attributed to the 6.0% decrease in cargo shipped through Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) Airport between 2021 and 2022. In 2022, Sea-Tac continued to handle the bulk of air cargo in the state, with 68.9% of the statewide total, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Sea-Tac Airport also provides daily, non-stop service to 92 domestic and 28 international destinations.
Overall air cargo tonnage shipped at Washington airports increased 2.4% to 2.1 million short tons of cargo (plane plus cargo weight) in 2021 from 2.05 million tons in 2020. Much of this increase was attributed to the 7.5% increase in cargo shipped through Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) Airport between 2020 and 2021. In 2021, Sea-Tac continued to handle the bulk of air cargo in the state, with 69.5% of the statewide total, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Sea-Tac Airport also provides daily, non-stop service to 91 domestic and 27 international destinations.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and a slow economy, overall air cargo shipping at Washington airports increased 3.2% to 2.05 million short tons of cargo (plane plus cargo weight) in 2020 from 1.99 million tons in 2019. Much of this increase can be attributed to the 9.5% increase in cargo shipped through Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) Airport between 2019 and 2020. In 2020, Sea-Tac continued to handle the bulk of all air cargo in the state, with 66.2% of the statewide total according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Sea-Tac Airport also provides daily, non-stop service to 91 domestic and 27 international destinations.