DHL Express has invested €4 million in a new gateway at Istanbul Airport (IST) to substantiallyincrease the speed and efficiency of its operations in the country.
The new facility, located at the airport’s Gate B next to the MNG Technical Hangar, comprisesa 4,000 sqm open and a 2,452 sqm closed area with a 55-metre conveyor belt system. When completed,the system will allow loading and unloading of up to ten aircraft containers simultaneously.
This will enable DHL Express employees and customs brokers to work in a more streamlinedenvironment as well as decreasing the international delivery times by approximately one hour. DHLwill also be able to extend its pick-up times since the front office at the gateway building willaccept shipments until 21:00 and ship them out of the country the same night.
Frank Appel, Deutsche Post World Net CEO, said during the gateway opening on November 14:“DHL was the first international express delivery company starting its operations in Turkey. We arestill the market leader and we aim to stay as the number 1 express service provider for thesuccessful trade. With the opening of the new Gateway we have built a strong basis for furthergrowth in Turkey.”
DHL Regional Director of Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, Michel Akavi, highlightedTurkey’s geographic location and stressed that logistics companies can not overlook this advantage.“In an environment where the global financial crisis is significantly decreasing the potentialdirect foreign investment everywhere in the world, we are committed to growing in Turkey byinvesting in this country in which we have many years of successful operational history,” he said.
“Turkey holds a strategic location in the EEMEA region. Of the total international shipmentsdeparting from the EEMEA region, 13% is from Turkey and of the arriving shipments 7% are cominginto Turkey. When the same analysis is made for parcels only and not document shipments, the numberincreases to 30%. These figures clearly demonstrate the importance of Turkey within the DHLnetwork,” he concluded.
