After lengthy delays, Leipzig-Halle Airport-based CargoLogic Germany (CLG) has been issued an air operator certificate (AOC) and is prepared to launch commercial operations, as confirmed on Sept. 23 by Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA), Germany’s civil aviation agency. CLG is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cargologic Holding Ltd.
“Cargologic Holding is an independently owned entity that sits outside of the Volga-Dnepr Group, which owns AirBridgeCargo Airlines, the largest Russian cargo airline,” according to Jorrit Dubois, group strategy manager at CargoLogicManagement. That comment was meant to refute charges of an ownership connection between AirBridgeCargo and CLG.
“We have complied with all known LBA and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) regulations and have successfully been granted a German AOC; we do not anticipate any further challenges — legal or otherwise — to this decision by an independent regulator.” Dubois added that there are no plans at this time for joint marketing involving AirBridge Cargo and CLG. “They operate in a different space,” Dubois stressed.
The airline will initially focus on providing short-term capacity to customers across Europe and in time aims to expand its offering to include provision of express air cargo solutions to major integrators and e-commerce providers. “We plan to compete with all known operators of approximately 20-ton capacity aircraft, such as operators of B737 and smaller aircraft, not limited to carriers at Leipzig-Halle,” Dubois told FreightWaves.
CLG officials point to the carrier’s home base in Leipzig-Halle as having a clear cargo focus, excellent infrastructure and the presence of several key customers. Moreover, the airport benefits from efficient rail and road links for onward transport. CLG officials maintain that the airport’s central location provides the advantage of reaching major cargo hubs within three to four hours, guaranteeing same-day or time-definite delivery options.
Leipzig-Halle is the second-largest cargo airport in Germany after Frankfurt and Europe’s fifth-largest air cargo hub. Air cargo volumes at the airport rose by 0.5% to 609,644 tons between January and June 2019, with aircraft movements increasing by 0.9% to 38,659 movements over the same period.
The airport serves as the main European hub for DHL Aviation, a division of DHL Express that is owned by Deutsche Post, after the company moved its European hub from Brussels Airport to Leipzig/Halle in early 2008, leading to a significant increase in cargo traffic at the airport. In October 2016, DHL inaugurated a major expansion of its freight facilities at the airport. Two new cargo terminals increased handling capacity by 50%. In August 2018, DHL announced further expansion of its facilities at the airport.
CLG officials maintain that the airline has generated considerable commercial interest in recent months following the granting of a noncommercial permit to fly in June. The carrier currently operates a fleet of two B737-400SF aircraft with a payload of approximately 20 tons and a range of 2,800 kilometers. CLG plans to increase its fleet to 10 B737 aircraft by 2022.
“We are expecting redelivery of a third B737-400SF aircraft that was initially meant to be delivered to us in the fourth quarter of 2019,” Dubois said. “All of our aircraft are on operating leases. We are currently reassessing our mid/long-term fleet plans.”