As of June, Lufthansa Cargo AG is relocating on schedule, its technical stopover point for its cargo flights from Astana (TSE), Kazakhstan, to Krasnoyarsk (KJA) in Russia. The first flight via the new route was made on June 1 from Tokyo via Krasnoyarsk to Frankfurt. Later, the flights to and from China will be made via Siberia. On completion of the relocation, freight to the previous location of Astana will only be transported aboard flights of Lufthansa Passage.
Lufthansa Cargo, however, will continue to have a presence in Kazakhstan with its cargo flights to Almaty.
'With the relocation of our operations, we are realizing a long-planned optimization of the routing,' said Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board of Lufthansa Cargo. "The new stopover in Krasnoyarsk shortens the flying time to the Far East by an average of about 12 minutes per flight and thus makes a valuable contribution to the further reduction of costs'. As a result, thanks to the new routing Lufthansa Cargo will use around 2,000 tons of kerosene less per annum.
Lufthansa Cargo has enjoyed considerable support from the region and the airport in Krasnoyarsk, during recent months. For example, within one year the instrument landing system of Krasnoyarsk Airport has been upgraded from CAT I to CAT II. With this modernization of the instrument landing system, the airport can also be used without interruption even in bad weather. Thus, one of the most important requirements of Lufthansa Cargo with respect to stable flight operations to and from Siberia was fulfilled on schedule.
As of August 2009, Lufthansa Cargo will use the new hub in Krasnoyarsk with 22 weekly flights to and from Europe.
