DHL Express invests big in Copenhagen hub

DHL Express is investing €134 million in its facilities at Copenhagen Airport (CPH) to underpin its presence in the Nordic hub for its trans-Eurasian operating shippers, in preparation for increased demand from its pharmaceutical and fashion industry clients.

The 26,000-square-meter building will accommodate office space and an automated sortation facility capable of handling five times as many packages as its previous capability at the airport – about 37,000 per hour – once the project is complete in 2023.

The location of the hub is intended to provide DHL with a more direct route for traffic moving to and from Denmark as an alternative to its hubs in Leipzig, Germany, and the East Midlands, in the United Kingdom. It will complement the company’s developing terminal in Fredericia, 135 miles west of Copenhagen, which is currently under construction and estimated to be finished in early 2020.

CPH’s own plans to increase capacity in response to demand for airfreight are currently under way. Its “Expanding CPH” vision will further develop its logistics park and add direct roadway access to Denmark, Sweden, Germany and continental Europe. “We can see growing demand for high-quality airfreight facilities to handle the increasing volume of freight to and from places like China,” Thomas Woldbye, CEO of Copenhagen Airport Group said.

DHL Express’ new freight terminal will be located on a more than 43,000-square-meter site in the eastern freight area of the airport, near the expanding logistics park.

In addition to its hub expansion, the carrier is beefing up its freighter fleet. In July, it announced its intent to purchase fourteen 777 freighters and five A330s, which would expand its fleet to more than 260 aircraft.