On 22th October, 2006 the first intercontinental airfreight connection from Leipzig/Halle opened when TESIS, a Russian air cargo company, started a scheduled weekly service with a Boeing 747-200F between Nanking (China), Leipzig/Halle and Moscow-Sheremetyevo (Russia).

After the move to Leipzig by DHL-Express, this will add to the airport's logistic role. »This scheduled link is the result of a long involvement with Leipzig/Halle Airport which we plan to intensify«, said Wolfgang Meier, Executive Vice President of Panalpina Air & Ocean, in charge of the inbound flight from Nanking.

The director of the Central German Airports Group, Markus Kopp states »The Central German Airports Group is looking for more logistics service providers worldwide to operate to Leipzig/Halle and we are glad to see that our committed and long trusting cooperation with Panalpina is now bearing fruit in the form of the Chinese link.«

Opting for Leipzig/Halle has given TESIS a time advantage compared with other airports in western Europe. The airfreight hub has scored with a number of economic factors. On the ground the cargo is delivered to Panalpina customers via a road feeder network. The freight from China consists mainly of consumer goods and the return flights carry urgent products such as computer chips made in Germany.

Airfreight volumes at Leipzig/Halle have again risen considerably over the last few months and grew from 6,201 to 17,896 tonnes between January and September 2006, an increase of 3,229 tonnes, respectively 188 %, over the same period last year.

The Central German Airports Group, a publicly owned undertaking, develops airports in the Halle/Leipzig/Dresden region with a view to future trends and commercial requirements. Subsidiaries of the group include Flughafen Leipzig/Halle GmbH, Flughafen Dresden GmbH, PortGround GmbH and EasternAirCargo GmbH. Total turnover in 2005 was €83.1 millions. The group handled 74,206 aircraft movements, 3.9 million passengers and 22,646 tonnes of freight. While the number of direct employees and trainees is 852, the Central German Airports Group provides jobs for approximately 4,500 people in a number of undertakings and agencies.