The Liege-based express parcels operator TNT has made interesting moves across the Belgian border into Germany and the Netherlands.

The German operation entails the start up of five weekly flights into and out of Hanover airport in the northern part of Germany.
These flights will be operated by Boeing 737-400F aircraft and will not only link Liege with Hanover, but also offer connections to Oslo in Norway and Billund in Denmark through the German
airport.
Hanover is seen by the TNT managers as being a convenient gateway to northern Germany with a catchment area which includes cities such as Hamburg, Bremen and Magdeburg.
HAJ enables carriers operating 24/7/365
The TNT Express flights depart Liege in the late evening for Hanover which enables the company to guarantee the delivery of urgent shipments into this area before 9:00 a.m.
The flight, after reloading, then continues from Hanover to Billund in Denmark.
Return flights through Hanover originate in Oslo, Norway and continue then back to Liege.
They also pass through Hanover in the late evening thereby giving shippers the chance to have their cargo delivered through the TNT hub in Liege during the following day to most countries within
Europe.
The service is mainly aimed at automotive and industrial companies which rely heavily on time-critical import and export shipments.
Although this is a new sector for TNT, the company is no stranger to Hanover airport. They have been in the area for some years now and in 2012 TNT moved its Hanover local offices and road
transit hub into facilities located on airport.
This was mainly done to ensure better connections between air and road operations.
The company is convinced that by adding direct air services through Hanover that they are giving their clients a better control over their shipments.
New International Depot
In a parallel move, TNT has just started building a brand new 6,350 sqm depot in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
The facility is slated to be completed by June 2015 and will replace TNT’s present area which is rented and has anyway become too small for them.
This will be quite a change to the present set-up, with the new building offering state-of-the-art loading and sorting equipment as well as a total of 99 loading bays for vans and trucks.
The new depot is expected to increase productivity and offer staff better working conditions. It will particularly serve clients from the healthcare and high-tech industries.
The Eindhoven depot with its daily road line haul services will connect with Liege, Arnhem, Northampton (UK), Paris and Zurich.
TNT’s management see both of these new developments as part of the company’s strategy to invest in its core European network as well as enhancing operational efficiency and quality of
service.
John Mc Donagh
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