Swissport International AG, the global leader of airport ground services and cargo handling for the aviation industry, is counting on further growth in Germany. The acquisition of cargo handler Apron GmbH makes Stuttgart the second largest cargo hub of Swissport in Germany, only topped by the Swiss company’s Frankfurt facility.

With the acquisition of cargo handler Apron GmbH, Swissport International AG is adding a large-scale cargo warehouse to its global network of 133 such facilities. Swissport makes Stuttgart its second largest cargo hub in Germany after Frankfurt. The Swiss market leader will be handling most of the air cargo tonnage at the airport of the Swabian capital, mainly for globally operating airline clients. The acquisition enables Swissport to increase its cargo revenues in Germany by nearly 20% and strengthens its market position in one of its core businesses.

"The expansion of our cargo services to Stuttgart underlines our growth ambitions in the air cargo segment," says Willy Ruf, Senior Vice President for Germany, Austria and Switzerland at Swissport International AG. "With the addition of Stuttgart to our global network, our clients will now be able to rely on our high-quality cargo services at eleven airports across Germany. Thanks to the direct tarmac access of the Stuttgart cargo facility, cargo shipments can be handled with short transit times.” Besides cargo handling Swissport will extend its product portfolio at Stuttgart airport to Cargo and Mail transport, security services and training.

With eleven million passengers Stuttgart is the eighth largest airport in Germany. More than 27,000 tons of air freight in 2017, including specialized car cargo shipments by the local car manufacturing industry, were handled in Stuttgart in 2017.

Swissport is investing at other German logistics hubs, too. In April 2018, the company announced a large-scale expansion of its cargo infrastructure at Frankfurt airport. The new custom-built air cargo warehouse will have a surface of around 16,000 square meters, making it the third largest in Swissport`s global cargo network.

Swissport International AG, on behalf of more than 850 client-companies, provides best-in-class airport ground services for some 265 million passengers annually and handles approximately 4.7 million tons of air cargo at 134 warehouses world-wide. Several of its warehouses have been certified for Pharmaceutical Logistics by IATA’s CEIV. With a workforce of some 68,000, the world’s leading provider of ground and air cargo services, is active at over 300 airports in 50 countries across all five continents. In 2017 the Group generated consolidated operating revenue of EUR 2.8 billion.