Bournemouth Airport’s dedicated cargo division, Cargo First, has announced its best ever year, recording gross cargo throughput of 31,000 tonnes for the 12 months to the end of March 2025.

The milestone, which ranks Bournemouth Airport eighth in the UK for airfreight, compares to 18,000 tonnes to March 2024.

It marks a period of rapid growth for Cargo First, underpinned by growing e-commerce imports and a significant increase in UK exports. In the first few months of 2025, export volumes have risen to approximately double the levels seen in the prior year, with high-value UK-manufactured goods now a growing part of the business.

Cargo First’s growth will be boosted further by major investment at the airport. As part of a £60 million site-wide investment by Bournemouth Airport’s owners, Regional & City Airports, plans are well advanced for the development of a new 35,000 square foot cargo facility.

This will approximately double the operation’s Customs-bonded warehouse capacity and forms part of a significant development which will also deliver new airside facilities purpose-built for handling cargo aircraft this year.

Stephen Gill, Managing Director of Bournemouth Airport, said: “We are incredibly proud of what the Cargo First team has achieved. To record our best-ever year is a testament to the hard work of everyone involved. With our new cargo facility on the horizon and volumes growing, we remain focused on Bournemouth Airport becoming the UK’s primary air gateway for e-commerce imports and exports.”