Air freight is booming. Since the start of the pandemic, the cargo business has been running at full speed, especially at Frankfurt Airport.

To ensure that the high volume of freight can be handled quickly and smoothly, the planning and coordination provided by FAIR@Link’s door management system are indispensable.

For Christopher Licht, managing director at Celebi Cargo, this busy cargo market was a pivotal factor in actively pursuing the implementation of FAIR@Link: “After we decided on the target date of June 1, we worked together with platform operator DAKOSY to draw up a detailed project plan to be able to start right on schedule. We wanted to offer the drivers smooth and, most importantly, Corona-compliant processes as quickly as possible.”

In the meantime, the rollout is in the home stretch and directly on schedule. The efforts of the last few months have paid off. As a final building block, Celebi is currently in the process of informing as many truckers and forwarders as early as possible about the requirement for pre-declaration.

“Of course, in the first few days any vehicles which haven’t booked slots will also be dispatched. However, when those drivers arrive on site they will have to use our self service terminals to create a slot booking, so they then return and be dispatched according to the newly-generated time slots,” Licht explains.

The new processes are designed to protect drivers and freight handling staff as much as possible from any potential infection with the Corona virus. Trucking companies reserve slots for handling in FAIR@Link before the start of the journey. As a result, by receiving all the information about scheduled deliveries and pickups early on, Celebi can plan its resources accordingly and avoid queues at check-in counters.

“As soon as a slot changes, the system automatically informs the affected driver via SMS and sends an updated time slot. This levels out any peaks and allows us to better ensure the required minimum distance between drivers and/or our staff. It’s crucial that everyone adhere to the following rules: book a slot in advance, record data accurately, and arrive on time,” warns Licht.

For platform operator DAKOSY, the launch of slot booking at Celebi marks another important milestone in the digitalisation of traffic at Frankfurt Airport, points out Ulrich Wrage, CEO of DAKOSY AG, and adds: “With Celebi, we are now connecting the third handling agent to the platform; more are in the pipeline. With each additional handler, the efficiency gains for the community increase. In addition to handling agents, trucking companies can also better plan their pickup and delivery processes, thereby saving trips. This, in turn, relieves traffic in Cargo City, reduces congestion, and speeds up handling processes overall.”