E-freight in India - Cargo Talk

International Airport
Trade Opportunities
Düsseldorf International
Airport, Germany
New trade lane in the making
Currently, the on airport
cargo capacity is 140,000
tonne per annum. At the
moment there are no
direct flights to India
out of Düsseldorf. However, Düsseldorf
catchment area is a high potential market
for Indian carriers who want to open a new
route into Europe. Its direct catchment
area is about 100km around Düsseldorf
and in this radius more than 18 million
people are living.
In the same radius, there are more than
100 Indian companies having their offices.
There are more than 5,000 international
companies in this area. More than 148
million people are living in a radius of
500km, which is a one-day truck drive
from Düsseldorf, which is also close to the
Benelux borders. At this Dutch border there
are a large number of distribution centers
of well-known international companies.
All these aspects are very important for
import shipments from the far East and
India. Düsseldorf is a very high potential
consumer and logistics market.
Düsseldorf is the capital of the Federal
State of North-Rhine Westphalia, which is
produces 20 per cent of the whole German
export volume. Major companies have
their manufacturing around the city and
there are thousands of small and medium
sized manufacturing companies. Often
32 CARGOTALK OCTOBER 2011
Düsseldorf International Airport is the third biggest
airport in Germany, passenger wise and placed
sixth in cargo ranking. There are two cargo
terminals here. Gerton Hulsman, Managing
Director, Düsseldorf International Airport, provides
details about ensuing business opportunities for
Indian companies. Ratan Kr Paul
these companies are global leaders in
their industry. Their products are pure
air freight in most cases. “Please bear in
mind that you will reach all the cities in
the Benelux in a couple of hours, which
enlarges the potential of this region,”
highlighted Gerton.
Connectivity
Düsseldorf is regularly served by
around 80 international airlines, providing
around 185 worldwide destinations on the
passenger side. Full-Freighter business is
only 10 per cent of the total cargo volume.
At the moment, Düsseldorf is served by
only one all-cargo airline on a regular
basis. In addition, there are several charter
companies using Düsseldorf for regular
freighter operations.
“Our target is to attract some more
freighter business to reach a share of 20-25
per cent of cargo tonnage,” said Gerton.
As of now, Düsseldorf Airport does not
have any facilities similar to the “cargo
village.” It has one cargo-center where a
number of forwarders, GSSAs and airlines,
customs, veterinary inspection, etc. have
their offices.
Connected to that is the airport’s
warehouse (12.650 m²). Next to this
facility lies a second, smaller warehouse
of another handling company.
Gerton Hulsman
Düsseldorf is trying to attract Indian
Carriers, to operate directly between
Düsseldorf and an Indian airport and they
try to attract carriers from the far East, to
operate to Düsseldorf with an operational
stop in India. The focus is not only on
airports like Mumbai and Delhi, but also
secondary airports.
Talks are on with Indian carriers
to open up such routes. “We are visiting
India maybe in February 2012, for
marketing purpose,” shared Gerton.
The Duesseldorf forwarder community
believes that great demand for air cargo
capacity, connecting DUS with mainly
Mumbai, exists. “We are keen to attract
carriers to start business flows between
our two markets,” he reiterated.
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