René Steinhaus, an aerospace engineer born in East Germany in 1972, will take over as head of TRIWO Hahn Airport. CargoForwarder Global (CFG) obtained this information from sources close to the case. Steinhaus succeeds Rüdiger Franke. The executive’s current contract expires. In future, he will serve as a consultant responsible for driving the further development of the air cargo business at the airport in southwestern Germany. Hahn is one of the few German airports offering airlines unlimited operational takeoff and landing times, and free slot selection.
It had been known for some time that Franke would be stepping down from day-to-day operations at Hahn Airport. However, it is unlikely that any outsider had René Steinhaus on their radar as his successor. As CargoForwarder Global has now learned from internal sources, TRIWO owner and airport proprietor, Peter Adrian and his inner circle have chosen Steinhaus as Franke’s successor. He will assume the new position in APR26.
A wealth of experience
Steinhaus has held various leadership positions in the aviation and transportation sectors. He worked for ten years at airport operator, Fraport AG, in several different functions, including Senior Executive Manager.
In 2008, he joined the consulting company, A.T. Kearney; first as a manager and later as Principal in the transportation and travel department. There, he was responsible for many strategic and commercial projects listed on the agenda of airports and airlines serving regional and international networks. After his A.T. Kearney tenure, he was appointed Commercial Director of Luxembourg-Airport in 2016. Six years later, in 2022, he exited LUX Airport after he had been named vice-president at the Stockholm-based Swedish company Einride, a specialist in electric and autonomous truck developments. His responsibilities included steering commercial operations in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) as well as the Benelux countries, where Steinhaus coordinated the development and deployment of electric trucks as an alternative to fossil-fuel-powered vehicles.
Increasing air traffic
At Hahn Airport, his primary task will be to generate new passenger traffic and attract new cargo airlines as a prerequisite for reaching the break-even point. His experience at the consulting firm, A. T. Kearney, should help him in this endeavor. Over the past two years, Hahn’s losses have already decreased significantly, but the airport has not yet reached the break-even point.
Last year, 106,640 metric tons of air cargo were handled there – up from 105,268 metric tons the previous year. In total, Hahn has the capacity to handle 400,000 tons of imports and exports annually. Passenger numbers rose from 1,865,112 (2024) to 2,196,229 in the past fiscal year, with low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and Wizz Air dominating the traffic.
