Kuehne+Nagel partners with Birmingham Airport to avoid congestion

Following a growing trend, Kuehne+Nagel Group is partnering with Birmingham Airport Authority to avoid congestion and expand air cargo business in the southeastern United States. That congestion at larger, hub airports has led some logistics companies to explore options at secondary, non-hub airports. Logistics provider DSV is expanding operations at Arizona at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA) instead of at the main hub at Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX), according to recently published reports. “By avoiding the bottlenecks at larger airports, this inaugural partnership will help our customers in the automotive, aviation and pharmaceutical industries get their cargo to its final destination more quickly, affordably and reliably,” Dina Silver Pokedoff, Kuehne+Nagel’s senior vice president of communications in North America, told Air Cargo Next . Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) handled 21,000 tonnes of freight in 2022, according to Kim Hunt, vice president of communications at the Birmingham Airport Authority (BAA). In contrast, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) handled 666,573 tonnes of freight in 2021. ATL’s supremacy in the region was solidified when Delta Air Lines moved its headquarters there in 1941; the story goes that Delta was considering moving to Birmingham, but, due to lukewarm interest from city officials, chose to go to Atlanta. Nevertheless, BHM remains Alabama’s largest commercial airport. Partnership brings multiple firsts This is the first time the BAA is partnering with a logistics company and the first time Kuehne+Nagel is establishing a presence at a secondary airport in North America, according to a joint release issued Tuesday. “This is a moment that will change the trajectory of this airport,” BAA Chairperson Darlene Wilson said in the release. “The recent enhancements we’ve made to the infrastructure of the airfield, plans for a new air cargo facility, combined with this partnership with one of the leading logistics companies is getting us closer to realizing a long-term vision of expanding air cargo business in the region.” [caption id="attachment_57134096" align="alignright" width="300"] Pictured is a rendering of the new air cargo facility at BHM, which is set to be completed in spring 2024. (Photo/BHM)[/caption] The BAA completed design work on a new air cargo facility last year and intends to break ground on it in May. Construction is anticipated to take about 10 months; until then, Kuehne+Nagel will operate from Kaiser Aircraft Industries’ hangar on the airfield. “It has been the vision of the Birmingham Airport Authority to partner with a global logistics company,” Hunt told Air Cargo Next . Last year, BHM handled 1,564 air cargo operations, and that is expected to increase with this partnership. Kuehne+Nagel has plans to operate two flights a week to BHM beginning in April, Hunt confirmed. Operations to begin April 2 Under the six-year agreement, Kuehne+Nagel plans to expand its services and reliability, primarily in the automotive, aviation and pharmaceutical industries. Kuehne+Nagel will subcontract warehouse management to ground handling company Alliance Ground International . “Through this partnership, we will have our first presence in Alabama, bringing us closer to our customers in the southeastern corridor,” Greg Martin, senior vice president of air logistics at Kuehne+Nagel, said in a release. Kuehne+Nagel will begin operations at BHM on April 2 with the first cargo flight from Stuttgart, Germany, arriving in the eastern United States. Kuehne+Nagel is currently operating three weekly round trips with two B747-8 freighters leased from Atlas Air on the following routes: Day 1: ORD, ICN, HAN, HKG, ORD; Day 3: ORD, ICN, HAN, HKG, ORD; and Day 5: ORD, ICN, HAN, HKG, DFW, ORD.

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