In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, DB Schenker has extended its global flight network to connect America, Europe and Asia directly. This week, the first of two routings touching three continents took off from Munich Airport. Every week, the 43 flights can transport as much cargo as 135 wide-body passenger aircraft would hold. 

“As air passenger travel is still far from recovery, we have decided to create new and reliable cargo options for our customers. I am especially excited about our new routes via Munich Airport. Our existing and strong flight network will become even more global,” said Thorsten Meincke, Member of the Management Board for Air and Ocean Freight at DB Schenker.

As of this week, the first new route runs from Chicago (RFD) via Munich to Tokyo (NRT) and Seoul (ICN) before flying back to Germany and from there again to the US. It is operated by National Airlines and offers a combined weekly transport capacity of 400 tons. The second connection will be launched end of February and alternates from Munich to Chennai (MAA) and Chicago (RFD), with a combined weekly capacity of 300 tons. Both routes will run for one year to provide stability in a challenging environment. 

“We are very pleased that DB Schenker, one of the most important and largest logistics service providers in the world, has chosen Munich Airport as the hub for its intercontinental cargo flights between the USA and the Far East. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there is unfortunately a great deal of belly-load capacity missing due to the greatly reduced number of flights,” said Jost Lammers, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board at Munich Airport. “This makes cargo-only traffic all the more important for Munich Airport. For this reason, Europe's first 5-star airport not only offers passengers an excellent range of services, but is also at the highest level in cargo handling.” 

DB Schenker controls a global flight network spanning almost all continents. With late departures at key gateways in many markets, later cut-offs for shipment drop-offs can be realized. All connections are operated with Boeing 747 and Boeing 777 full freighter jets. 

About DB Schenker 

With around 76,900 employees at more than 2,100 locations in over 130 countries, DB Schenker is one of the world's leading logistics providers. The company operates land, air, and ocean transportation services, and it also offers comprehensive solutions for logistics and global supply chain management from a single source.