DHL Aviation is a division of logistics multinational DHL responsible for providing air transport capacity.
Overview
DHL Aviation is a group of airlines that are either owned, co-owned or chartered by
DHL Express.
DHL owns six main airlines to service various global regions:
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European Air Transport Leipzig (EAT Leipzig) is responsible for the major part of the network for Europe, and for long-haul services to the Middle East and Africa. It operates a fleet of Boeing and Airbus freighters from its hub at the Leipzig/Halle Airport.
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DHL Air UK (DHL Air), acquired by DHL in 1989, is based at East Midlands Airport. Since July 2000, it has operated a fleet of Boeing 757 freighters on intra-European services and a fleet of Boeing 767 freighters, primarily on transatlantic routes.
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DHL Aero Expreso is a subsidiary in the Central and South America Hub in Tocumen, Panamá, operating a fleet of Boeing 737-400, 757-200 and 767-300 freighters which also serve destinations in the Caribbean and Florida.
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SNAS/DHL (DHL International) handles Middle East destinations from its headquarters and main regional hub at Bahrain International Airport, operating a fleet of Boeing 767 freighters. The fleet is deployed throughout the Middle East and in Africa.
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Blue Dart Aviation is based at Chennai International Airport, India, with a fleet of Boeing 757 freighters. It provides services for DHL's Indian network and regional charters.
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DHL Air Austria is based at Vienna International Airport, Austria, with a fleet of Boeing 757 freighters.
DHL owns the following smaller subsidiary airlines:
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DHL de Guatemala, Guatemala City
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DHL Aviation South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa, with a fleet of ATR 72-200F operated by Solenta Aviation
DHL had stakes in the following airlines, some of which also operate under the DHL brand or livery:
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AeroLogic, Leipzig, Germany (50%)
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Polar Air Cargo, Purchase, New York, United States (49%)
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Tasman Cargo Airlines, Sydney, Australia (49%)
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Vensecar Internacional, Caracas, Venezuela (49%)
Former owned airlines:
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Air Hong Kong sold the remaining 40% shares to Cathay Pacific Airways in July 2017.
Hubs
Brussels Airport was a main hub; when DHL planned expansion at Brussels Airport in October 2004, it created a political crisis in Belgium.
Yet, in 2017 DHL invested heavily in its Brussels hub and the site at Brussels Airport is now one of the main regional hubs in the DHL Express network.
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport (CVG) is the United States global hub for DHL Aviation.
In March 2021, DHL Aviation announced the relocation of one of its main hub operations from Bergamo to Milan Malpensa Airport, where it opened new logistics facilities.
Fleet
, the DHL Aviation fleet consists of the following aircraft:
| + DHL Aviation fleet |
|
| ATR 42-300F | 2 | 1 | — | DHL de Guatemala | |
| 1 | Vensecar Internacional |
| ATR 72-500F | 4 | 4 | — | Solenta Aviation Gabon | |
| Airbus A300-600RF | 36 | 1 | — | Solinair | |
| 2 | Air Hong Kong |
| 6 | ASL Airlines Ireland |
| 27 | European Air Transport Leipzig |
| Airbus A321-200PCF | 1 | 1 | — | Levu Air Cargo | |
| Airbus A330-200F | 7 | 2 | — | Air Hong Kong | |
| 4 | European Air Transport Leipzig |
| 1 | ASL Airlines Ireland |
| Airbus A330-300P2F | 12 | 2 | — | European Air Transport Leipzig | |
| 10 | Air Hong Kong |
| Boeing 737-300SF | 1 | 1 | — | Aeronaves TSM | |
| Boeing 737-400SF | 10 | 1 | — | Allied Air | |
| 1 | Air Ghana |
| 2 | Cargoair |
| 1 | Aeronaves TSM |
| 2 | Kalitta Charters |
| 3 | Swiftair | One crashed as Swiftair Flight 5960. |
| Boeing 737-800SF | 1 | 1 | — | Cargoair | |
| Boeing 737-800BCF | 4 | 2 | — | Texel Air | |
| 2 | Blue Dart Aviation |
| Boeing 737-800BDSF | 12 | 6 | — | iAero Airways | |
| 4 | Kalitta Charters |
| 2 | ASL Airlines Ireland |
| Boeing 747-8F | 4 | 4 | — | Polar Air Cargo | |
| Boeing 757-200SF | 5 | 5 | — | DHL Air UK | |
| Boeing 757-200PCF | 30 | 4 | — | DHL Aero Expreso | One crashed as DHL de Guatemala flight 7216. |
| 1 | Blue Dart Aviation |
| 7 | European Air Transport Leipzig |
| 18 | DHL Air Austria |
| Boeing 767-200BDSF | 4 | 1 | — | 21 Air | |
| 3 | ABX Air |
| Boeing 767-300F | 6 | 3 | — | DHL Air UK | |
| 3 | Tasman Cargo Airlines |
| Boeing 767-300BCF | 16 | 5 | — | DHL Air UK | |
| 6 | DHL Aero Expreso |
| 5 | DHL International Aviation ME |
| Boeing 767-300BDSF | 24 | 1 | — | DHL Air UK | |
| 2 | Cargojet Airways |
| 3 | DHL Air Austria |
| 4 | 21 Air |
| 5 | DHL International Aviation |
| 9 | ABX Air |
| Boeing 777F | 32 | 2 | — | Polar Air Cargo | |
| 5 | Kalitta Air |
| 5 | Singapore Airlines |
| 7 | DHL Air UK |
| 11 | AeroLogic |
| 2 | Central Airlines |
| Boeing 777-200LR/MF | — | — | 9 | Mammoth Freighters | Deliveries to commence in 2024. |
| Eviation Alice | — | — | 12 | DHL International Aviation ME | Deliveries to commence in 2024. |
|
Accidents and incidents
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In 2002, BAL Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937, a Tupolev Tu-154 passenger jet, collided with DHL International Aviation ME Flight 611, a Boeing 757-200 cargo jet at over Überlingen, Germany. All 69 passengers on board the Bashkiran flight (consisting mainly of Russian schoolchildren) and the two pilots of DHL were killed.
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The DHL shootdown incident in Baghdad on 22 November 2003 wherein Iraqi insurgents fired an SA-7 "Grail" surface-to-air missile at a European Air Transport Airbus A300 operating on behalf of DHL Aviation. The aircraft took off from Baghdad airport whereupon the missile struck the left wing, disabling all three hydraulic systems and set the wing on fire. The aircraft began a dangerous phugoid (vertical oscillation) but the crew managed to land safely at the airport, despite only being able to control the aircraft by adjusting the engine thrust.
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On 18 March 2010, Exin Flight 3589, a DHL Antonov An-26 aircraft made an emergency landing on the frozen Lake Ülemiste, close to Tallinn Airport. Initial reports indicated problems with the landing gear and one of the engines. The flight was operated by Exin on behalf of DHL. The aircraft involved was SP-FDO and the flight departed from Helsinki Airport. One of the six crew members was injured.
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On 13 February 2021, the cargo door of DHL Air UK Flight 126, Boeing 757-200 freighter registered G-DHKZ, opened at an altitude of approximately after the aircraft departed from Leipzig/Halle Airport. Airframe parts fell on the grounds of a power plant approximately from the airport, but no cargo was lost, and the flight crew was able to return to Leipzig/Halle with no injuries. The incident is under investigation.
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On 7 April 2022, DHL de Guatemala Flight 7216, a Boeing 757-27A (PCF), crash landed in San Jose, Costa Rica after attempting an emergency landing due to a hydraulic failure. Both crew members survived without injuries.
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On 25 November 2024, Swiftair Flight 5960, a Boeing 737-476F, crashed into a house near Vilnius Airport in Vilnius, Lithuania. Out of the four occupants on board, one died while two others were injured.
See also
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2003 Baghdad DHL attempted shootdown incident
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2002 Überlingen mid-air collision
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DHL de Guatemala Flight 7216
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2004 Air Tahoma CV-580 crash
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2024 Swiftair Boeing 737 crash
External links
