DHL gets tough in bid to secure Brussels growth

Express package carrier DHL has warned the Belgian government that unless it can guarantee unrestricted expansion at Brussels, it will relocate its main European air hub to Germany.

The company, which has been based at Brussels since 1985, is preparing for major expansion and is demanding an increase in the airport’s night-time movement cap and a guarantee that it will be allowed to operate there for at least 30 years. DHL, which is Brussels airport’s biggest operator, says it is in talks with Stuttgart and Leipzig airports in Germany about potentially relocating its main hub.

With the express market growing at 5-8% annually, DHL says it needs to undertake an initial investment in 2007 to expand its hub to meet demand. By then the company will be operating at least 75 aircraft in its European network.

This will initially be achieved by redeploying aircraft from DHL’s worldwide fleet. The company expects the expansion will see its employment at the hub increase from 3,500 to 9,300 initially and to 12,000 after 2012.

The Belgian government has recently vowed that night operations at Brussels airport will be frozen at 25,000 movements annually, due to environmental pressure. DHL wants this to be increased to 30,000 and beyond and says if this is not agreed it will have to relocate.

The announcement was a bombshell for the Belgian government, which only recently implemented new noise legislation for the airport. Some observers say the loss of the country’s largest operator could bring the government down.

The situation is complicated by the structure of aviation regulation in Belgium, with it being jointly controlled by the federal government and the country’s regional governments and also involving the country’s judicial system.

One proposed solution was to offer DHL the use of Chièvres air base in western Belgium, but this was dropped as the investment required to provide the necessary infrastructure was too great.