DHL hub move to Leipzig underway

DHL has begun operating aircraft out of Leipzig in eastern Germany, two years before the airport becomes fully operational as its main European hub.

Five aircraft have been switched from Berlin to the new facility, with five more due to call at Leipzig later this year to serve eastern Europe.

DHL is investing t300m in Leipzig, which is expected to handle 2,000 tonnes of freight a day at maximum capacity.

From 2008, 60-70 aircraft movements through Leipzig are expected every night.

Peter Kruse, CEO of DHL said: “Not all [European] aircraft will need to go to Leipzig; our existing hub in Brussels will still be operational as a smaller gateway serving the Benelux.”

Leipzig was chosen as the company’s main European base after restrictions on night-time flying and other operations made Brussels unsuitable as its intercontinental hub (see analysis, page 4).

As DHL is expanding into central and eastern Europe, the number of flights has been increasing and the company needs to be able to operate freely 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the company said.

The 200ha Leipzig site will include 40,000sq metres for parcel sorting and 10,000sq metres of office space.

Up to 3,500 people will be employed by 2012; more than 20,000 job applications have already been received from local residents.

A hangar will accommodate two A380s simultaneously.

But the development of the new hub would not lead to a complete restructuring of the integrator’s European operations.

Kruse said: “Leipzig will have some impact on our freight schedule, but we will not have to re-design it completely, just make small adjustments.”

DHL now claims to have captured 20.1% of the European express market, ahead of TPG/TNT with 13.1% and DPD/La Poste with 11.7%. It operates 46 air express gateways handling over 1bn shipments a year.

Kruse also forecasts a shift in the type of shipments handled.

Currently, most international shipments are time-definite, rather than day-definite (33% and 20% respectively).

However, over the next five years, Kruse believes day-definite bookings will become more popular.

“Time-definite shipments grew because of the inefficient services that existed at the time, ” he said.

“Now that air express has become more efficient, customers will begin to rely on day-definite products.

“This will be helped by our new structure of terminals and depots, including the hub at Leipzig.”