Top ten European cargo hubs

Catering for operators is Aviation Soultions and Penauille Servisair, which are equipped to handle aircraft including wide bodied freighters such as the B747F and AN-124 Ruslan. Extensive aircraft engineering facilities are also available at the airport, enabling a wide range of aircraft types to be maintained.

The eastern side of the airport provides four cargo terminals that measure over 225,000 square feet. Cargo Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5 house the hub operations of UPS, TNT and Royal Mail. In the west of the airport, a new complex has been developed through a joint venture by EMA and DHL Aviation. Consisting of a 350,000 square feet sorting facility, a 12,000 square feet loading bay and a 90,000 square feet office block, the venture is the first of its kind in the UK.

The Cargo Village is located a short distance from the eastern cargo apron, which features warehousing and office units of varying size, amounting to 140,000 square feet. Surrounded by large areas of undeveloped airside and landside owned by the Airport Company, the potential for expansion is evident.

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

The third largest individual cargo airport in Europe and the 16th largest cargo airport worldwide is Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The airport began its history as a cargo airport primarily dealing with airmail, newspapers, medicine and flowers. Whilst it now handles many more kinds of goods, its focus on the perishables sector remains - one third of the cargo volume handled at Schiphol is perishables such as flowers, fruit, vegetables, fish and medicine.

Last year, Schiphol reached a total handling of 1,559,787 tonnes of cargo. Establishing an extensive investment programme, the addition of a fifth runway in 2003 (the Polerbaan) has provided room for further growth of cargo facilities at the airport until 2010.

The main market for Amsterdam currently stems from Asia, which accounts for 40% of the cargo volume transported to the country.

A combination of the rapid economic growth in Southeast Asia and the liberalisation of the air cargo market in China have led to an increase in full freighter services. Particularly from airlines such as Dragonair, Emirates and Singapore Airlines, and from carriers such as KLM Cargo and Korean Air.

Amsterdam's fame and heritage with the flower market is bonded with Schiphol. The local Aalsmer Flower Auction is the centre of the international flower trade. It deals with 60% of the global flower trade with a considerable volume of this going through the airport.

Cologne Bonn Airport

Cologne Bonn Airport has experienced steady growth in cargo volumes over the past decade, with 2006 proving particularly prosperous. The airport handled a record-breaking 698,000 tonnes of freight last year, which marks an increase of 5% compared to 2005.

This upward spiral is expected to continue at full pace this year. Indeed, it is predicted that 740,000 tonnes of freight will be handled by the end of 2007, making Cologne Bonn Airport one of the biggest airfreight hubs in Europe.

To support this growth, US$80.5 million has been allocated for a series of ambitious developments, including a major air cargo centre, equipped with 10,000m² of warehousing space and 4000m2 of office space.

"We have now firmly established ourselves among the top German airports," says Michael Garvens, chief executive officer at Cologne Bonn Airport. "In the past years, we have experienced an enormous boom in terms of growth rates. With the higher performance of last year, together with the higher targets we are aiming at this year, we are on the way to consolidating ongoing, sustainable success."

The cargo section of Cologne Bonn Airport has attracted a strong presence from international heavyweights such as DHL, Kuehne + Nagel, Lufthansa Cargo and UPS. A range of services are currently available 24 hours a day from the airport, including warehouse storage for dangerous goods, refrigerated and deep freeze storage, an animal quarantine station, build-up of aircraft pallets and containers, and pressure chambers for flight stimulation.

Luxembourg International Airport

Cargo flight activity began at Luxembourg International Airport alongside the creation of Cargolux in 1970. Since then the facilities have evolved into the present day CargoCentre, which was built in 1996 for US$170 million is capable of handling over 750,000 tonnes annually.

Last year, the facility recorded a total of 751,645 tonnes of cargo, making it Europe's fifth largest cargo airport. This is supported by computer links between the CargoCentre and local customs, which speed up pre-arrivals, clearances and documentation processes.

Located at the northeast of Luxembourg International Airport, the cargo facility provides a 4000 metre runway suitable for heavily loaded freighter complete with navigation aids to land suitably equipped aircraft in very low visibility. The CargoCentre ramp is able to accommodate eight wide bodied aircraft, with staff routinely handling four B747 freighters at once. Office space was recently increased at the site by 50% to meet demand, with the overall size now standing at 14,300m².

Scheduled trucks regularly arrive and leave directly from the CargoCentre through the A1 motorway, connecting the hub with most capital cities in Europe. During peak periods, more than 80 trucks can be handled simultaneously using the 89 loading and unloading docks, nine of which are equipped to handle through Unit Load Devices (ULD).

Airlines currently using CargoCentre include Cargolux, China Airlines and Bluebird, and forwarders include Kuehne + Nagel, Schenker and Nippon Express.

Charles de Gaulle International Airport (Paris)

Charles de Gaulle International Airport, located 25km from the cosmopolitan city of Paris, is the main international airport in France.

In terms of cargo, it currently ranks as the second biggest facility in Europe, with 1,854,950 metric tonnes of freight handled in 2006. Indeed, the local market for express deliveries has experienced a significant boom over the past five years. This has resulted in a constant stream of air cargo companies seeking a presence at Charles de Gaulle International Airport's specialised cargo zone, which consists of warehousing and handling facilities, as well as offices that incorporate the latest technology and security systems. The facilities are also subject to special handling processes, allowing companies to benefit from accelerated customs procedures.

At the moment, the French Post Office conducts a range of sorting and transportation services from the airport, in addition to leading international players such as Air France, DHL, TNT and UPS.

Another courier heavyweight, FedEx, also established an international hub at Charles de Gaulle International Airport in 1999 - it's second biggest facility, after its main headquarters in Memphis. "One of our priorities in selecting a European base was room for expansion. At Charles de Gaulle, there are acres of land available for logistic operators to set up close to our hub," says Bernard Mercier, vice president of FedEx.

As the only major airport in the European region with significant development land still available, the local authorities are considering a variety of expansion plans to utilise this extra space and increase facilities for both cargo and passenger activities. This includes modification work to make Charles de Gaulle International Airport accessible for the new Airbus A380-800F. In addition, a technology system is also in the pipeline, designed to capture and exchange information between different cargo companies operating at the facility.

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