On 21 September the contract was signed for the establishment at Leipzig/Halle Airport of the European air freight hub to be operated by DHL, the express delivery subsidiary of Deutsche Post World Net.

Following to the declaration of intent by Deutsche Post World Net of 9 November 2004, this marks the ratification of the agreement to relocate the DHL hub to Leipzig/Halle.  Signatories to the contract document were the Managing Directors of DHL Hub Leipzig GmbH, Michael Reinboth and Joachim Schlüsener, together with Eric Malitzke, Managing Director of Flughafen Leipzig/Halle GmbH and Volkmar Stein, of the Board of Directors of Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG.

With the concluding of  the contract, DHL and Leipzig/Halle Airport have laid the foundation for long years of co-operation to come, which will allow the Central German airport to become one of the most significant freight nodal points in Europe.  As from 2008, some 50 DHL freight aircraft will be using Leipzig/Halle as their hub base every day, in order for up to 2,000 tonnes of freight to be sorted and forwarded worldwide every night.

Michael Reinboth: »We have concluded a good contract which will secure the growth of DHL and of the Airport, and which represents an important milestone on the way to Leipzig/Halle by DHL.  This contract has established an important  precondition towards the creation of the planned 3,500 jobs at DHL as the air freight hub.«

Volkmar Stein: »The development work and the strategy  pursued have achieved a really significant success.  Leipzig/Halle Airport is not only competitive on a European scale, in future it will become one of the leaders in the freight business.  The trust which DHL and Deutsche Post, the German Post Office, as the world’s largest logistics operators, have placed in the Airport is the result of outstandingly professional work and powerful support from the shareholders of Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG and the Airport shareholders alike.«

Eric Malitzke: »Winning DHL as a client of Leipzig/Halle Airport is the result of some two years of negotiations, and we are extremely pleased with the outcome.
This success is proof of the development potential of the Airport and of the entire region for the logistics and air transport sectors, something unique on a national comparison in Germany, and recognised internationally.  Starting out from this decision, there is now a unique opportunity for Central Germany as an economic region to help this establishment to grow, consistently and with the commitment of the Free State of Saxony, the State of Sachsen-Anhalt, and the cities of Leipzig and Halle, and, with the aid of professional marketing, to ensure that regional and economic interests are linked in order to take best advantage of the great potential for Central Germany created by the major investment made by Deutsche Post AG/DHL.«