The Munich Airport cargo area has added a new freight-handling hall. The new facility at the South-East end of the freight area was officially opened following nine months of construction work. The expansion is in response to the booming airfreight business at Munich Airport, which has posted strong annual growth rates of up to 30% in recent years. With a total volume of 300,000 metric tonnes in 2004, the annual tonnage has more than tripled since the airport opened in May 1992.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Peter Trautmann, the Managing Director for Traffic Operations and Engineering at Munich Airport, stressed Munich's excellent prospects as an airfreight location: "Thanks to southern Germany's strong exports and our airport's geographical location at the heart of an expanded Europe, we have the opportunity to sustain our above-average growth in the freight sector."
The new 4,400 square meter Express Services Center will be used exclusively by the express services FedEx, DHL and UPS. The reinforced concrete structure is eight meters high, 132 meters long and is divided into two complexes. In the northern section of the hall, in a total area of approximately 1,000 square meters, FedEx will handle its goods. In the southern section, the express carriers DHL and UPS will have operating space totaling 1,400 and 1,200 square meters respectively. For quick and efficient handling of their goods, the three express services need large freight-handling areas, which have become scarce at Munich Airport due to the rise in freight volumes. Freight is handled using special equipment, which the carriers will install themselves. Complementing these high-performance sorting facilities, the other key factor helping to shorten turnaround times is computer technology. The facility was designed by the Munich architect Christoph Zobel.
The express carriers are supported by the FMG subsidiary Cargogate, which specializes in freight handling and also provides freight handling services for approximately 60 international airlines. The Munich Airport subsidiary currently handles approximately 90,000 metric tons of freight per year, with no end to the upward trend in sight.
