Leipzig/Halle Airport airport operator Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG (MFAG) has reached an agreement on the extension of its contract with DHL which will see the express carrier pay higher landing fees at its largest hub, people familiar with the matter told Air Cargo News sister title DVZ.
MFAG told DVZ that it would not comment on contract negotiations with customers. When asked, DHL replied that the company would also not comment on the negotiations.
DVZ was informed that the contract has been finalised and will be signed by the contracting parties on Wednesday July 31.
To mark the occasion of the early extension of the framework agreement until 2053, whose specific individual contracts would have expired between 2036 and 2038, the Prime Minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, and DHL chief executive Tobias Meyer will meet at Leipzig/Halle Airport in the hangar of DHL’s cargo airline European Air Transport (EAT).
MFAG pushes through demands
According to DVZ, DHL will have to pay significantly more under the new conditions in order to be able to operate at its largest hub worldwide in future. Under the current conditions, MFAG receives a total of €61m per year from DHL.
When the new regulations come into force, this amount will rise to €73m per year, an increase of almost 20%.
According to DVZ information, the increase of €12m per year is made up of three components: Increased charges for de-icing services and higher infrastructure payments for DHL, such as for the maintenance of the apron, account for an increase of almost €2m per year.
Night landing fees increased significantly
By far the largest share of the increases is due to the increase in landing fees implemented by MFAG, which will generate around €10m more per year for the airport operator.
To date, DHL has paid €48m euros per year for landing fees. At just under 80%, they account for by far the largest share of the annual fees paid by DHL.
The future increase in landing fees by more than 20% €58m is largely due to the increase in the so-called night landing fees for flight movements between 10pm and 5.59am that has now been agreed.
The question of how much DHL will have to pay MFAG for these in future has been one of the major points of contention between DHL and the airport operator in recent months.
The previous contract stipulated that DHL had to pay approximately the same landing fees during the day and at night. This practice is generally unusual.
According to DVZ, the new regulation also includes a staggering of night landing fees according to noise emissions. DHL mainly operates at Leipzig/Halle Airport at night. Local residents have been protesting about noise pollution for years.