The Belgian airport has secured the services of Kuehne+Nagel. From now on, a B747-8F will land there twice a week, which Kuehne+Nagel has chartered long-term from ACMI provider, Atlas Air. The inaugural flight took place on Friday (09MAY25), with the aircraft bearing the name ‘Inspire’. According to Liège Airport’s (LGG) Head of Corporate Communication, Christian Delcourt, Kuehne+Nagel Management has decided to relocate the flights from Amsterdam Schiphol to the Walloon Airport.
Delcourt declined to speculate on the reasons for the translocation of the freighter flights, probably to avoid upsetting his colleagues in Amsterdam. Instead, he praised the advantages of his site, which allows clear conclusions to be drawn about Kuehne+Nagel’s decision. “At Liège, we offer airlines sufficient slots, meeting their operational demands. Congestion is an unknown word for us, and we don’t have any night flight curfew.” Only a week ago, U.S. integrator, FedEx, had announced that it will be increasing its weekly Liège-Memphis services from 5/7 to 8/7 – see CFG’s article.
Kuehne+Nagel’s step is knighthood for LGG, Laurent Jossart
Kuehne+Nagel’s step reinforces Liège Airport’s growing role as a strategic hub for global freight services and highlights the confidence that major logistics players place in its infrastructure, capabilities, and its 24/7 operational flexibility. With this move, Atlas Air expands its presence at Walloon airport where it also operates flights on behalf of other customers such as, for instance, MSC Air Cargo.
“We are delighted that Kuehne+Nagel has chosen to strengthen its operations at Liège Airport with the support of Atlas Air Worldwide,” stated Laurent Jossart, CEO of Liège Airport. The executive went on to say: “This expansion is a testament to the trust our partners place in our location, infrastructure, and ability to support complex and time-sensitive logistics.”
Kuehne+Nagel’s two Boeing 747-8F aircraft (‘Inspire’ and ‘Empower’) offer an uplift capacity of 140+ metric tons each and a nonstop range exceeding 8,000 km when fully loaded. The agent’s air freight services include express, charter, consolidation, and temperature-controlled shipments monitored electronically all the way from departure to arrival, thus ensuring that customers have full visibility and have access to tracking solutions.
Premium around-the-clock service
Jens Ludwig, VP Global Air Logistics Own-Controlled Network & Charter at Kuehne+Nagel, commented: “Liège Airport is a strategic hub for our European air logistics operations. This expansion with Atlas allows us to provide a premium around-the-clock service for our customers, leveraging LGG’s excellent facilities and capabilities.”
With a global network covering over 1,300 sites in close to 100 countries, the logistics giant handles everything from pharmaceuticals and perishables to aerospace and industrial goods. The company is known for its strong partnerships, reliability, and commitment to sustainability – making it a trusted partner for air cargo across the globe, praises an LGG press release.
Forwarders go where the business is
Experts also evaluate the relocation of the two weekly Kuehne+Nagel freighter flights from Amsterdam to Liège as a result of CEO Jossart and his management team’s efforts to attract more freight forwarders to the Walloon airport. This strategy, encouraging agents to open up stations at LGG, was announced at the beginning of 2024, in an interview with CargoForwarder Global.
Since then, the number of freight forwarders running their own station at the airport has steadily increased. Prime pull factor was and continues to be the tonnage growth. In 2024, LGG handled 1,162,899 metric tons, an increase of 16% y-o-y. Freighter flights also grew 14%, totaling 27,184 annual movements. From now on, eight more flights per month will be added – the B747-8F services operated on behalf of Kuehne+Nagel.
