Politicians in French-speaking Wallonia, in Belgium, have called on FedEx to sign an agreement which demonstrates its long-term commitment to Liège Airport following its acquisition of TNT Express last year.
Interviewed by French-language Belgian broadcaster RTBF, the region's Airports minister, Jean-Luc Crucke, underlined that the future of Liège's sorting centre, previously run by TNT and which employed thousands of staff, depended on FedEx for its future.
“FedEx has not signed (an agreement) and we must have closure on this. Having said that, as things stand today, the links between FedEx and Liège Airport are very strong,” he declared. However, Crucke added that no date had been fixed for a meeting with FedEx.
The previous Wallonian government had agreed to undertake an investment programme at the airport which entailed lengthening the second runway and increasing the number of aircraft movements per hour.
Liège Airport's managing director, Luc Partoune, who was also interviewed by RTBF, said a delegation from Wallonia had met representatives from FedEx in Memphis at the start of the year.
“We must continue our efforts to put an attractive package before FedEx. There's a lot at stake and we have some key assets in our favour, notably restriction-free night flights. These are things we need to put on the table when we sit down and resume discussions with Fedex in the coming months.”
Asked to comment on its commitment to Liège, FedEx Europe replied to CEP-Research in a emailed statement: “FedEx has consistently reinforced the role of the TNT hub in Liège as a significant operation for the group, complementing the FedEx Express hubs at Paris Charles-de-Gaulle and Cologne airports.
“This was clearly illustrated by the introduction of a direct intercontinental Liège – Memphis flight in April (2017), linking the TNT hub in Liège into the FedEx Express vast global air network. This direct flight is excellent news for TNT customers shipping to North America, and creates growth opportunities for our customers, our employees and the employees of our valued service providers.”
However, the company would not be drawn on whether it was ready to negotiate a long-term cargo development agreement with Liège Airport and the Wallonian authorities, limiting its comments to the following: “We started this new flight in April which clearly shows our longer term commitment to the TNT hub in Liège as a significant operation for the group, complementing the FedEx Express hubs at Paris Charles-de-Gaulle and Cologne airports. As indicated previously, this direct flight creates growth opportunities for our customers, our employees and the employees of our valued service providers in Liège.”
