Chinese air cargo shifts to Frankfurt-Hahn to bypass night flight ban

SHANGHAI's Yangtze River Express and Navitrans, a Taiwan-Turkish company, have found advantage in the night flight ban at Frankfurt-Main airport by flying into neighbouring Frankfurt-Hahn airport, which is untouched by the restriction that mostly affects cargo flights.

Yangtze River Express has been joined by Navitrans, the new Taiwan-Turkish joint venture, as well as MyCargo and Japan's Nippon Cargo Airlines, which have also signed deals to land at Frankfurt-Hahn.

"The confirmation of the night-flight ban at Frankfurt-Main means that many airlines will now have to develop alternative models for their cargo business," Frankfurt-Hahn managing director Jorg Schumacher told Atlanta-area Air Cargo World.

Rather than competing with Frankfurt-Main, Mr Schumacher sees their roles as complementary, pointing out that Aeroflot and Etihad Airways, have shifted cargo to Hain while continuing to handle passengers at Main.

Yangtze River Express started operating through Hahn with a B747-400F service to Beijing, which it plans to increase to three times a week.

Istanbul-based Navitrans initiated a weekly service linking New York, via Hahn with Chengdu, using B747-400F equipment operated by Taiwan's Evergreen International Airlines. Navitrans flights have been increased to twice a week.

This new intake will add another 10 flights a week to the airport's freighter schedule, reportedly providing the potential to increase cargo traffic by as much as 10,000 tonnes a month. Recent talk of Frankfurt-Hahn facing insolvency has largely dissipated as a result.

"Since our flight from New York arrives in Germany at night and leaves again at night, it was obvious we should run via Hahn airport," said Navitrans German general manager Luhua Dai.

Nippon said a night schedule will provide it with a more competitive edge over its rivals. MyCargo said it would use Frankfurt-Hahn to operate both scheduled and charter services.