Lufthansa building cargo handling facility

FRANKFURT, Germany—Lufthansa is going ahead with a new logistics centre in Frankfurt, Germany, despite a ban on night flights at the airport.

The airport’s restriction on flying times caused some concern for the airline, but eventually Lufthansa decided to stick with the location.

“Frankfurt will remain the central hub for the Lufthansa Group’s cargo business, despite the night-flight ban. The night-flight ban meant considerably adjusting the original plans. In view of the competitive disadvantages compared with other locations, it was therefore all the more important to have access to a reliable and efficient infrastructure,” said Lufthansa CEO and chair Christoph Franz.

The existing Frankfurt facility is over 30 years old, and is no longer as efficient as the airline would like. Construction on the new centre will begin in 2014. The new building will be built on the same site as Lufthansa’s current cargo handling facility, which will mean some operations will need to be temporarily located during construction. Most services, however, will continue to be offered at the existing Frankfurt office, even during construction.

The new building should be ready in 2018. It is being designed to play a key role in Lufthansa’s future cargo handling plans.

“Building of a new logistics centre is a major component of our ‘Lufthansa Cargo 2020’strategy,” said Lufthansa Cargo CEO and chair Karl Ulrich Garnadt. “The new facility will enable us to take a quantum leap in the logistics process and will make the company fit for the challenges of the future.”

Lufthansa says it will a “mid triple-digit million euro sum” in the new facility.