GlossaryEN1 min readUpdated: Aug 13, 2026

Air Cargo Hub

When a logistics group concentrates its overnight flights at a single location to transfer shipments between hundreds of destinations, that location is functioning as an air cargo hub.

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Last updated: 13 August 2026

Source: Frachtportal News: "Sprengstoff-Drohne am Flughafen Leipzig/Halle: DHL-Frachter kollidiert mit unbekanntem Flugobjekt"

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Logistics Concept

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Definition & Explanation

When a logistics group concentrates its overnight flights at a single location to transfer shipments between hundreds of destinations, that location is functioning as an air cargo hub. As the central node of a freight network, an air cargo hub gathers cargo from many origin airports, sorts and consolidates it, and distributes it onto connecting flights to its final destinations. Typical features include high annual cargo volumes, dense networks of scheduled and charter freighter flights, dedicated sorting and handling facilities, and tightly synchronized timing between landing, transfer, and departure. For integrated express carriers such as DHL or FedEx, the hub is the operational heart of their overnight sort system: a disruption at a single hub — caused, for example, by a security incident or weather closure — can quickly ripple through the entire European or global delivery network. Not to be confused with a simple destination airport, which only receives or dispatches cargo without systematically transshipping it.

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Air Cargo Hub

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Related Terms

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