Cargo handling at Leipzig/Halle Airport, Europe’s fifth largest air cargo hub, increased last year for the fifteenth time in succession. A total of 1.24 milllion tons were handled, representing year-on-year growth of 1.4 percent. This means a growth well ahead of the trend for Germany as a whole.
Cargo handling at the airport has increased more than tenfold since 2007 and is continuing to grow. This increase is driven primarily by the presence of the DHL hub at Leipzig/Halle, although non-DHL cargo business at the airport is also on the up, with a total of more than 50 cargo airlines flying to more than 200 destinations worldwide every year.
Leipzig/Halle Airport has a 24-hour operating permit for cargo flights and a direct connection to the trans-European motorway and rail networks in a north-south and east-west direction. It is therefore ideally placed for onward transportation of goods by road and rail. The runway system comprises two parallel 3,600 metre runways which can be used independently of one another, including under CAT III-B conditions.
DHL has operated its European hub at Leipzig/Halle since 2008. It is the largest in its global network and has so far had EUR 655 million invested in it. In addition, there are plans to extend the infrastructure in the area of the apron used by DHL. Leipzig/Halle Airport is also the base airport of AeroLogic, a joint venture between DHL Express and Lufthansa Cargo.
