Cargo volume at Germany’s Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ), Europe’s fifth largest freight hub, continues to grow, bucking the general trend in the German market.
In May, the volume of cargo handled was 5.4% higher than the month before, at around 114,502 tonnes. From January to May, the value was 1.6% higher than last year, at 519,489 tonnes.
One key source of the growth, said an airport spokesperson, is the freight handled at the DHL hub, which is the largest in the logistics group’s network.
The volume handled by other air cargo and logistics companies also continued to rise “disproportionately” said the spokesperson, adding: “With the Corona crisis in full swing, in May, freight charter volumes rose by 65.6% year on year. These included cargo flights using passenger aircraft, such as those by Aeroflot, Nordwind Airlines and Vietnam Airlines.
“Altogether, some 60 cargo airlines fly into Leipzig/Halle Airport, operating a route network with more than 200 destinations around the world.”
The spokesperson continued: “The current crisis is showing how important a well-functioning air traffic infrastructure is in supplying the population and industry. Leipzig/Halle Airport has a 24-hour operating permit for cargo flights, plus direct connections to the trans-European motorway and rail network, both from north to south and west to east.
“This means that Leipzig/Halle thus offers the ideal conditions for transporting goods by road and rail.”
The runway system comprises two parallel runways, each 3,600 metres in length, which can be used independently of one another even in CAT III-b conditions.
PortGround, a subsidiary of Mitteldeutsche Flughafen specialised in aircraft and freight handling, also has CEIV Pharma certification and is therefore able to process time-critical and temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical shipments around the clock.
Moreover, PortGround offers e-commerce solutions from a single source, including handling, customs clearance and last mile delivery.
