Worldwide Flight Services, a SATS company, has been awarded a contract by Kuehne+Nagel to provide freight forwarder handling services at Frankfurt Airport, Europe’s largest air cargo gateway.
The agreement follows WFS’ investment in two warehouses and two office buildings on a 24,000 sq m site in Cargo City South. The facilities began operations in December and are designed to support the company’s specialist E-commerce and Freight Forwarder Handling services.
Equipped with ULD handling systems, as well as volume and dimension scanners to speed up shipment processing, the Frankfurt facilities have capacity to handle up to 100,000 tonnes of import and export freight annually.
Bert Selis, Vice President Business Development E-commerce and Freight Forwarding Handling EMEAA, said Kuehne+Nagel is a key global partner for SATS and WFS. He added that the new contract reflects the value of WFS’ EFFH services, which are designed to deliver operational and cost benefits to logistics providers.
Martin Schaefer, Senior Vice President Air Logistics Germany at Kuehne+Nagel, said Frankfurt is an important gateway within the company’s airfreight network. He noted that the partnership with WFS will help accelerate imports and exports by reducing clearance and processing times, improving cargo flows for customers.
Under the agreement, WFS will handle import shipments for Kuehne+Nagel and manage the recording of weight and dimensions for export cargo. It will also prepare goods for carriage, ensuring they are secured and ready for onward movement.
Additional services include cargo labelling, consolidation of House Air Waybills into Master Air Waybills, ULD build-up and dedicated transport shuttles to ground handlers and airlines for departing flights.
Frankfurt joins WFS’ wider EFFH network, which includes Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, Liege, London, Madrid, Stockholm and 12 airports across France, including Paris Charles de Gaulle.
The contract strengthens WFS’ role in the freight forwarder handling segment and highlights Frankfurt’s continued importance as a strategic European cargo hub.
