Lufthansa Cargo completes 1st phase of FRA hub upgrade

Lufthansa Cargo has completed the first of three renovation phases at its 80,000-square-meter Frankfurt hub as Asia-Europe trade continues to grow. The first phase, dubbed Alpha, included building a new warehouse and installing a 900-foot, two-story conveyor belt through the middle of the facility, Thomas Rohrmeier, vice president and head of handling for Frankfurt (FRA) at Lufthansa Cargo, told Cargo Facts . [caption id="attachment_57298049" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] The new Lufthansa Cargo warehouse in Frankfurt. (Courtesy/Lufthansa Cargo)[/caption] It also included outfitting one warehouse with 3,000 automated pallet slots for large pallets and another warehouse with automated slots for time- and temperature-sensitive cargo, the carrier said in a June 25 release. Lufthansa Cargo, which operates twelve 777Fs, broke ground on the warehouse in 2023. Each phase of the project targets a different section of the carrier’s FRA footprint to maintain operations during construction, Rohrmeier said. The next phase, Bravo, focuses on the warehouses in the southern portion of Lufthansa Cargo’s FRA facilities. The warehouses will be completely rebuilt, he said. Finally, in phase Charlie, the carrier will renovate its northern warehouse. This phase will be the simplest in terms of technological challenge, but will be the most difficult in terms of continuing daily operations, Rohrmeier said. Many parts of the warehouse, including its roof, pipes and floor, must be replaced piece by piece. The $686 million renovation project is slated for 2030 completion, Lufthansa Cargo said in the release. When finished, the facilities will be able to handle about 20% more annual throughput, Rohrmeier told Cargo Facts . Beyond the renovation, Lufthansa Cargo is eyeing AI upgrades for its FRA hub, he said. The carrier hopes to outfit the facility with autonomous ULDs and forklifts, as well as AI-powered, 3D volume scanners capable of reading labels, calculating package dimensions and optimizing storage space. These goals are estimated to take at least ten years to be realized, Rohrmeier said. Supporting growth The renovated hub will support Lufthansa Cargo as it targets growth, particularly in the Asian market. The carrier sees potential for especially strong growth on trade lanes to and from cities such as Hong Kong (HKG), Shenzhen (SZX), Bangkok (BKK) and Singapore (SIN), Urte Wirtz, head of global sales and product management at Lufthansa Cargo, told Cargo Facts . Lufthansa Cargo has already seen volumes rise on routes to India and Vietnam, she added. Meanwhile, the carrier has seen strong demand over the past twelve months for time-sensitive and high-value shipments. Pharma, high-tech and cross-border e-commerce shipments have driven demand, Wirtz said. “Overall, the development is less about one single shift and more about a broader trend toward more complex, high-value, time- and temperature-sensitive cargo,” she said. More broadly, FRA sees opportunities for growth in China and India, with Asian markets showing the strongest cargo volume growth so far this year, Anna-Lena Ott, communications manager for cargo and ground handling at Fraport, told Cargo Facts. The airport handles pharmaceuticals, high-tech goods and perishables moving along India-Europe routes, while e-commerce, industrial and high-tech goods, and semiconductors move between China and Europe. “These commodity groups highlight Frankfurt Airport’s role as a premium hub for handling high-value, time-sensitive and specialized cargo,” Ott said. Cargo Facts Symposium 2026, the premier event for the freighter aircraft and air cargo industries, will take place in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 21-23. Find out more and register by Sept. 4 to take advantage of early-bird pricing.

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