DHL subsidiary opens largest parcel sorting hub in Czech Republic

Professional Party Logistics (PPL), a subsidiary of DHL Freight, has opened a new parcel sorting in hub the Czech Republic . The facility, the product of a 24.7 million Euro investment, is the largest of its kind in the country and is expected to make parcel delivery in the Eastern European country faster and more flexible than ever.

The new hub has increased sorting capacity drastically: it is capable of handling up to 18,000 parcels per hour, compared to the former hub’s 4000 an hour capacity. The new facility also comprises 190 loading and unloading ramps for trucks and vans and houses a rolling conveyor of almost 3km in length which can travel up to 3 meters a second.

Stefano Arganese, CEO of DHL Freight in Eastern Europe said "The need for a bigger and better parcel hub was driven by a continuous growth of B2B and B2C parcel shipments in recent years. The new capacity and the cutting edge sorting technology allow us to cope with the growing volume of shipments and strengthen our position as a market leader for fast shipments in the Czech Republic".

IATA urges more cooperation between Eastern Europe and Aviation leaders

Addressing delegates at the IATA Aviation Day Eastern Europe conference which opened in Bucharest last week, IATA's CEO Tony Tyler urged greater cooperation between Eastern European governments and aviation industry stakeholders: “Aviation connectivity can play a key role in the economic success of Eastern Europe. But in order to achieve these benefits, the region will need to tackle some long-standing problems which hamper competitiveness and innovation,” he said.

Tyler named the environment, passenger rights and infrastructure as three areas where governments should embrace innovation. Firstly, for the industry to achieve carbon neutral growth by 2020, cooperation from governments would be required, he said. On the issue of passenger rights, Tyler focussed mainly on competition and the need for governments to take responsibility for protecting consumers by ensuring service standards are maintained and regulated. Finally, when addressing the topic of infrastructure, Tyler highlighted that the most pressing issue was the Single European Sky and emphasised that the lack of political will to push states to unify European airpace is costing the continent EUR5 billion annually.

Source: IATA

Leipzig/Halle airport makes air cargo history

The German Leipzig/Halle International airport has yet another success to add to its list. During the first few months of this year, the Saxony-based airport handled a total of 272,867 tonnes of air cargo; 13.7 percent more compared to 2011.

AeroLogic - the German air cargo carrier

After Frankfurt airport, Leipzig/Halle is the second busiest air freight centre in Germany and home to Germany’s first central German cargo carrier, AeroLogic. In 2009, DHL and Lufthansa Cargo joined forces to create this globally operating air cargo carrier. The fleet is composed of eight Boeing 7777 freighters delivering freight to 20 destinations in Europe, Asia, North America and the Middle East.

An air freight centre for Eastern Europe & Asia

Whilst other cargo airports had to decrease their volumes as a result of the recession, Leipzig / Halle continued to grow steadily and established itself as one of Europe’s most important logistics centres handling particularly large volumes of air freight for Eastern Europe and Asia.

“The positive development in the air cargo sector gives rise to optimism and impressively shows the capabilities and opportunities which due to unrestricted night-time cargo operation Leipzig / Halle offers its customers and DHL in particular”, said Markus Kopp, CEO at operator Mitteldeutsche Airport Holding. 

Kopp also emphasised the meaning of Leipzig/Halle airport’s well-connected motorway and railway system without whom the transport of large capacities of freight would not be possible. In 2011, the airport made history. It celebrated its seventh successful year of handling an approximate 760,737 tonnes of cargo.

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Sources: ACW, Leipzig/Halle Airport, AeroLogic Transglobal Express