Cargo volumes at Sri Lanka’s main Bandaranaike International Airport have reached an all-time high in December 2009, topping a previous record in 2006, according to state-run carrier Sri Lankan Airlines, which operates the airport’s only cargo terminal.

Sri Lankan said that a total of 23 airlines had carried 16,070 tonnes of cargo in 1,213 flights, topping a March 2006 high of 16,033 tonnes. For the full year 2009 the airport handled 133,693 tonnes of cargo.

“We are pleased to witness the recent growth in cargo handling, and are hopeful that the trend will continue throughout 2010, as the world begins moving out of recession,” Sri Lankan’s manager cargo operations Janaka Munasinghe, said in a statement.

For the record-breaking month of December 2009, Sri Lankan itself carried 8,163 tonnes, Dubai-based Emirates was second at 2,338 tonnes, and Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific carried 986 tonnes. This was followed by Singapore Airlines (713 tonnes), Saudi Arabian (536 tonnes), Etihad (458 tonnes), Thai Airways (373 tonnes), Malaysia Airlines (357 tonnes), and Oman Air (335 tonnes), according to Sri Lankan.

Exports were 11,651 tonnes and imports 4,419 tonnes. Colombo is positioning itself as a transhipment hub for South Asian cargo with the cargo terminal expanding to double its capacity to 300,000 tonnes per year, with the commissioning of a new export terminal expected in the first quarter of 2010.