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By Michael Rothe
It is now official: logistics giant DHL will remain at Leipzig-Halle Airport for decades to come. The postal subsidiary has signed the framework agreement with the Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG (MFAG) on Wednesday for a further 15 years until 2053, thus making a significant contribution to the stability and future viability of the airport and its operator.
According to a restructuring report, MFAG, which also owns Dresden Airport, will lack a total of 145 million euros from 2024 to 2026. Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt recently promised state aid of 100 million euros - a condition for new bank loans. The company is expected to contribute 11.6 million euros itself: through a better operating result in 2023 and greater savings.
The company, which is 77 percent owned by the Free State of Bavaria, is also banking on more profitable business with its largest customer. Noisy residents and some local politicians have been demanding a correction to the previous low-cost contracts for years - the aftermath of massive concessions to bring the global corporation DHL to eastern Germany in 2008.
The German transport newspaper Deutsche Verkehrszeitung had reported that MFAG had pushed through higher landing fees in particular. Accordingly, the express service provider will pay 73 million euros per year to the airport operator in future - twelve million euros more than before. In addition, there would be higher charges for de-icing aircraft and maintaining the apron. This information has not yet been denied.
"Even though we are now paying significantly higher fees for the remaining term of the old contract, the result is economically viable," says Tobias Meyer, CEO of DHL Group, about the new contract. For the manager, the hub is "an important driver for the economy of Central Germany". The contract extension gives the logistics giant "planning security, which enables further investment in the location and long-term job security", said the DHL boss in front of around 100 guests at the ceremony.
Leipzig will play a central role in the DHL network for decades
To date, the Group has invested around 780 million euros at the site and created over 7,000 jobs. Thousands of jobs have also been created in the area surrounding the site. According to DHL, the Group intends to continue with the expansion of the aprons. The airport will play a central role in the Group's global logistics network for decades to come.
Manager Meyer "expressly thanks the Saxon state government for its continued strong commitment to the location". At the same time, he hopes "that MFAG will successfully overcome its structural problems and that business beyond DHL will also develop positively".
The logistics giant's announcement to relocate its European air freight hub from Brussels to Schkeuditz Airport will be 20 years old in November. The hub stands "for the Saxon success story of which we in the Free State are proud", says Saxony's Minister President Michael Kretschmer (CDU). In just 16 years, the airport has grown into one of the world's most important centers for air freight. "The extended partnership with DHL ensures that Saxony will play a leading role in increasing international trade," said Kretschmer in the DHL hangar. The SPD-governed Ministry of Economics and Transport left the stage to the Prime Minister and did not wish to comment when asked by the SZ.
"Bargain for DHL to the detriment of the general public"
According to the Left Party in Saxony's state parliament, the new contract is "a bargain for the billion-dollar DHL group, but just a drop in the ocean for the state airport company" and "a bad deal for the general public". The agreement would not bring MFAG, which has been making losses in the double-digit millions for many years, out of the deep red. The parliamentary group requested a special meeting of the Finance and Economic Committee on August 7. The state government should then disclose the agreements on take-off and landing fees, noise surcharges, environmental charges and other fees.
The Free State of Bavaria had lobbied hard for DHL to settle here and for the expansion of the airport - which brought the competition authorities in Brussels onto the scene. The EU Commission overturned a state guarantee of 500 million euros, but approved 350 million euros in subsidies for the new runway - as well as subsequent subsidies in 2014.
For MFAG CEO Götz Ahmelmann, who only commented in writing after the ceremony, the arrival of DHL was "a key impulse for the region". The development of the cargo hub consolidates Leipzig-Halle Airport's position as one of the most important cargo airports in Europe.
Leipzig is the largest of three global hubs in the DHL Express network. Every night, 2,000 tons of freight in the form of 350,000 shipments are handled there and flown to a good 50 destinations by an average of 75 aircraft per working day.
No cuts to night-time air traffic
This is particularly displeasing to thousands of noisy residents. The new contract does nothing to change their night-time nuisance. "The core of the express business is to deliver shipments to their destination the following day," says DHL spokesperson Persson and: "Without 24-hour operations, a hub for express freight cannot be operated."
The citizens' initiative IG Nachtflugverbot nevertheless misses statements on improved noise protection, a ban on particularly loud aircraft and night-time noise restrictions and quotas. It speaks of a "free flight ticket for DHL at an absolute dumping price and without any consideration for the environment and the health protection of local residents". As the contract has already been signed, Michael Kretschmer may already know the outcome of the current planning approval procedure for the expansion of the cargo airport, the interest group speculates.
The State Directorate (LDS) denies any influence. Such procedures are "strictly formalized, legally regulated approval procedures". The authority makes "an autonomous and independent decision on the balance of interests" and the LDS was not involved in the negotiations. "It is intended to complete the planning approval procedure before the end of this year," the SZ asked.
