Lufthansa Cargo will enhance its presence in southern Germany starting July 6, 2024, with new flights departing from Munich Airport. The initial service, operated by an Airbus A321F, will connect Munich and Istanbul twice a week, adding to the existing belly cargo network. The new cargo flights will depart every Saturday and Sunday with flight numbers LH8350/LH8351 and LH8346/LH8347. Lufthansa Cargo customers can already book their shipments on this new route.
Lufthansa Cargo operates its hub in Munich on a total area of 38,000 square meters. Among its various facilities is the Ceiv-certified Pharma Hub MUC, where temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products can be stored and managed under optimal conditions. This allows the carrier to transport nearly all categories of products and goods through Munich. Until now, these goods have primarily been transported from the Bavarian capital to destinations worldwide via the belly capacity of passenger aircraft from Lufthansa, Brussels Airlines, Discover Airlines, Austrian Airlines, and SunExpress. The hub is also connected to a dense trucking network.
"For our customers in southern Germany, Munich Airport offers ideal conditions for fast and reliable air transport, thus enabling global trade from another major European airport,” explains Ashwin Bhat, CEO of Lufthansa Cargo. “With the launch of our cargo operations from Munich, we are laying the foundation to more closely align our network with our customers’ needs in the future and to manage it flexibly."
Jost Lammers, CEO of Munich Airport, adds: "The launch of regular cargo flights to Istanbul by Lufthansa Cargo is excellent news for Bavarian exports and Munich Airport. The above-average growth rates recorded this year have already demonstrated that Munich Airport is becoming increasingly important as a hub for freight transport. Lufthansa Cargo's commitment will now further enhance Munich's attractiveness as a cargo location."
