Already at a pre-Covid level in terms of passengers, Hahn Airport counted 1.7 million passengers in 2023, with great potential within its cargo operations.
One of the biggest growth opportunities is e-commerce, which is being massively driven by China in particular. These developments mean that freight transport is currently undergoing a big change.
The individual parcel shipments, which go directly to the end customer without much intermediate storage, tie up more resources at customs, for example. However, Hahn Airport sees this as a great opportunity, closely monitoring trends in this area.
As a cargo hub, Hahn Airport sees itself as having many advantages: a 24/7 operating permit and all the important authorities, such as customs, are on site. There is a border control point for flowers, animals and food.
“Hahn has a unique location to serve a wide variety of markets,” Ruediger Franke, Managing Director of TRIWO Hahn Airport, stated.
“The airport is close to Frankfurt, and its proximity to the Benelux countries and the metropolitan regions within Germany is a big advantage. By truck, for example, you can reach France, Luxembourg or Belgium in just roughly two hours.”
Changing vision
Sustainability is a topic that Hahn Airport cleary on the radar for themselves and the rest of the industry. “We have set ourselves the goal of becoming more sustainable. Customers and passengers also expect us to be active in the area of sustainability,” Franke outlined.
With that in mind, the airport has already converted the majority of its apron vehicles to e-mobility, started to offer e-charging stations for employees and, for the future, begun focusing on energy efficiency with LED lighting and building conversions.
In terms of technological innovation, passenger check-in will be converted to digital controls and self-check-in terminals in the coming months, aprons have been equipped with Wi-Fi, meaning that all check-in processes can be recorded digitally using tablets wherever possible, and the car parks have been converted to QR codes, automatic license plate recognition and billing is currently underway. “Overall, this will significantly improve and speed up the processes at Hahn Airport,” Franke explained.
