Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has been awarded a contract by Kuehne+Nagel to provide freight forwarder handling services at Frankfurt Airport, Europe’s biggest air cargo gateway.

The agreement follows WFS’ investment in leases on two warehouses and two office buildings on a 24,000 m² site within the airport’s Cargo City South, which commenced operations in December. The facilities - equipped with ULD handling systems and volume and dimension scanners used to expedite the processing of shipments - have the capacity to handle up to 100,000 tons of import and export freight annually for customers using WFS’ specialist E-commerce and Freight Forwarder Handling (EFFH) services.

“Kuehne+Nagel is a key and highly valued partner of SATS and WFS and we are proud to be expanding our global partnership in Frankfurt, which has been made possible by the launch of our E-Commerce & Freight Forwarder Handling services in our new facilities at the airport,” said Bert Selis, VP Business Development E‑commerce & Freight Forwarding Handling EMEAA. “Our EFFH services are central to the growth strategy of SATS/WFS and are designed to deliver clear operational and cost benefits to growing logistics providers, as Kuehne+Nagel has recognized with this new contract," he added.

“We are pleased to expand our partnership with WFS in Frankfurt. Frankfurt is an important gateway within the Kuehne+Nagel airfreight network. Together, we can speed up imports and exports by reducing clearance and processing times to optimize cargo flows for our customers,” added Martin Schaefer, SVP Air Logistics Germany at Kuehne+Nagel.

On behalf of Kuehne+Nagel, in addition to handling import shipments, WFS manages the recording of weight and dimensions of export shipments as well as making goods secure and ready for carriage. Additional services include cargo labelling, HAWB consolidation into Master Airway Bill (MAWB), build-up of ULDs, and dedicated transport shuttles to ground handlers and airlines for departing flights.

As well as in Frankfurt, WFS’ network of EFFH service locations also includes Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, Liege, London, Madrid, Stockholm, and 12 airports across France, including Paris CDG.