Lufthansa Cargo will operate 21 cargo flights every week to international destinations like Atlanta, East Midlands, Wilmington/Ohio, Sharjah, Hong Kong, Bahrain, Singapore, Istanbul and Delhi from Leipzig/Halle from 28 October 2007. In the past these routes were operated on behalf of DHL Express from Cologne/Bonn. But they are being transferred to Leipzig/Halle as DHL Express sets up its new hub at the airport. The flights will be operated using MD-11 freight aircraft.

“A new era is starting for Leipzig/Halle as Lufthansa Cargo launches its intercontinental freight routes. We will be a major destination on the air freight world map from the 2007/2008 winter timetable onwards. I am delighted that the Lufthansa Group will not only operate passenger routes, but also freight services through its logistics subsidiary to Central Germany every day. This will connect the region with the rest of the world. We are proud that Lufthansa Cargo, one of the world’s leading air freight carriers, is including us in its network of important hubs in future,” says Markus Kopp, CEO at the Central German Airports Group.

The Central German Airports Group is a public sector company, which is developing the airports in Central Germany in a forward-looking manner to meet needs. The group also includes the following companies: Flughafen Leipzig/Halle GmbH, Flughafen Dresden GmbH, PortGround GmbH and EasternAirCargo GmbH. The group’s turnover amounted to EUR 92.4 million in 2006 and it handled 79,760 flight movements, 4.19 million passengers and 39,954 tonnes of freight. The group directly employs 903 members of staff and trainees. Some 4,500 people work at the various companies and agencies operating at Central German Airports Group sites.