Airfreight to Denmark is booming

AIRFREIGHT: Denmark’s second largest international airport Billund has set a new record for airfreight. There is a strong demand for direct flights between China and Billund and Billund-USA-Japan

Denmark’s second largest international airport in Billund, Jutland, has seen a dramatic increase in airfreight in both directions.

In 2004, Billund Airport reported a 21.7% increase in freight, bringing the total up to 48,500 tons. Copenhagen Airports meanwhile handled 336,000 tons of freight in 2004, a figure which was unchanged compared to 2003.

Billund’s large increase in percentage terms is due to steadily increasing imports not least from Shanghai and Hong Kong to the large Danish textile industry which is based around the airport. At the same time, exports from manufacturing industry in Jutland are also strongly increasing.

Import-export activity via Billund is now so strong, that the airport expects an airline Airfreight to Denmark is booming will establish a full twice-weekly cargo route from the Far East to Billund, and twice-weekly from Billund to North America, Japan and China.

“We can prove that there is brilliant business in such a collaboration,” says the head of cargo Jan Ditlevsen, Cargo Center Billund. “The figures are there in black and white, and the corporate sector will be very happy when the cargo route is established.”

This is confirmed by Preben Friis, deputy director of the employer organisation Danish Textiles and Clothing.

“There is clearly a need for a direct route between Shanghai and Billund,” he says. “Currently, the goods arrive, of which 90% are textiles, via the strangest roundabout route, and often in a knocked-about condition as a result. With a direct route, the users of the transport can save up to 4 days each way. Not to mention the goods that come by ship. It usually takes four weeks, and the difference between having the goods on the shop shelves for four weeks instead of on a ship, can be the difference between success and failure.”

TMT currently operates a regular daily cargo route between Billund and Liege in Belgium. In addition one cargo charter on average lands and departs per day. The rest of the transport is trucked. In addition to the commercial cargo, Billund Airport is the centre for relief transport from Northern Europe to a number of current disaster areas in the world.

“The tsunami disaster in South East Asia helped produce a growth rate in January 2005 alone of almost 50%,” says Jan Ditlevsen. “Despite the tragic background, the disaster actually accounts for only a half of January’s growth. The rest is purely commercial and if it continues, it will produce yet another record year with a total far above the magical 50,000 ton figure. We have the capacity to handle up to 250,000 tons, so there is a lot of scope for enthusiasm.”

The plateaued figure of 336,000 tons at the cargo centre in Copenhagen Airports in 2004 is due to numerical inaccuracies, according to the head of cargo Lars Korup. He says that the reported figures from airlines were too high in 2003. The figure for 2004 has on the other hand been documented by the cargo centre itself.

“We can also see a 5.6% increase in freight operations, and a 6.4% increase in the takeoff weight of cargo aircraft,” says Lars Korup.

“It is a growth that we will see continuing in 2005,” says Korup. “This is particularly due to the reduction in operation duty for very large aircraft such as the 747 by 50% in mid 2004. It has helped to make Copenhagen Airports the cheapest in Scandinavia and fully competitive with the rest of the freight airports in Europe.

Today, Copenhagen Airports has 8 full weekly cargo routes which are run by Singapore Airlines and Korean Airlines.

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