The German Ministry of Transport has approved the Air Operator’s Certificate for Leipzig-based CargoLogic Germany (CLG). This has now been confirmed by the Saxon State government. "It will further strengthen the role of Leipzig/Halle as a leading air freight hub," stated Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (Christian Democratic Party) in a first official reaction to the green light given by Berlin.
Only a matter of days
Good news for CEO Uli Ogiermann and his team: After a lengthy application process, lasting since mid-2018, the manager is about to reach his goal: the AOC for CargoLogic Germany. However, “we
still haven’t got the official confirmation by regulator Luftfahrt-Bundesamt,” (LBA) responsible for admitting AOCs, he told CargoForwarder Global. So the launching flight will still have to wait
a bit before taking to the air.
But this seems to be only a matter of days, because Berlin’s Transport Ministry is the superior authority, entitled to give the LBA and alike subordinate administrative bodies orders. It is
assumed that this will happen very shortly.
First charters, followed by line-haul
Once the flight permit is obtained, CLG will immediately launch charter flights, confirmed Mr Ogiermann. “We already have many requests from the market for ad-hoc flights,” he stated. "Line-haul
operations are to follow once all processes are running well."
From the very start, CLG will operate two leased B738-400P2Fs, with a third unit joining the carrier at the end of this year and a fourth B737-400F expected to join the fleet at the beginning of
next year.
Concentrating on express goods
Being based in LEJ, CLG can connect to all relevant European cargo hubs within 3 to 4 hours. The airline intends to concentrate on transporting express shipments, thus distributing e-commerce
products on intra-European routes.
Currently, 35 employees stand on the newcomer’s payroll with half of them being cockpit personnel.
According to aviation experts, the reason for the lengthy approval process was the haggling between the German and Russian sides over the conditions for the AOC. Which specific issues were tabled
remains speculative, so is the outcome of the talks behind closed doors. Also, resistance by German carriers objecting the emergence of a new freight carrier next door might have been a reason
for the lengthy AOC application process.
Heiner Siegmund
Write a comment