New Kuehne+Nagel air cargo warehouse at Frankfurt Airport strengthens CargoCity South

Fraport has sealed a lease with Kuehne+Nagel for a new air cargo warehouse in CargoCity South that will deliver 7,600 m² of warehouse space plus 1,100 m² of offices and social areas, include 16 gates and truck docks, sit on a 16,900 m² plot in Air Cargo Area 2 adjacent to access gate Tor 31, and is scheduled for completion by 2028.

Facility specifications and operational footprint

The facility is designed to support high-frequency airside operations and ground transport circulation. With 16 loading gates and dedicated truck docks, the layout prioritises fast turnaround and safe manoeuvring for heavy-duty freight vehicles. The project remains on Fraport’s balance sheet while Kuehne+Nagel will occupy the premises under a long-term lease, reinforcing the latter’s two-decade presence at FRA.

Design priorities: throughput, connectivity, sustainability

The building concept targets three mutually reinforcing objectives: maximise throughput through gate and dock density, maintain connectivity to airside and landside networks, and reduce emissions via on-site photovoltaics and DGNB Gold certification aims. From a logistics point of view, that mix is the sweet spot — you want process speed without paying the emissions toll that later forces retrofits.

How the warehouse plugs into Frankfurt’s cargo ecosystem

Frankfurt already functions as one of Europe’s primary air gateways. Adding a modern Kuehne+Nagel facility within CargoCity South strengthens several logistic vectors simultaneously:

• Capacity uplift: additional handling square metres relieve peak bottlenecks for time‑sensitive sectors such as healthcare and semiconductors.
• Network resilience: a landlord-built, tenant-operated model keeps infrastructure investment aligned with airport masterplanning while reducing capital strain on the operator.
• Improved lead times: airside adjacency and multiple docks shorten door-to-plane transfer times for palletised and piece shipments.
• Logistica verde: rooftop PV feeding into the airport grid reduces scope 2 intensity for on-site operations.

Sectoral benefits and customer impact

Kuehne+Nagel’s focus on healthcare, semiconductors, high tech and cloud infrastructure shipments means handlers will see stricter temperature control, higher security, and faster acceptance windows. For forwarders and freight forwarders, that translates into lower dwell times and fewer missed connections — and for shippers, fewer headaches when a critical consignment hits the tarmac.

Digitalisation, process innovation and space optimisation

Fraport’s CargoHub masterplan emphasizes space optimisation, space development, e digitalisation and process innovation. In practice this facility will need to integrate seamlessly with terminal TMS (terminal management systems), truck appointment scheduling, and customs pre-clearance data flows. If the IT stack flops, the gates and docks won’t matter — so the devil is in the integrations.

From experience, the best warehouses are the ones where the physical layout and WMS talk the same language; that reduces pallet reworks and manual handling. The new Kuehne+Nagel site seems to tick those boxes on paper.

Construction and timeline milestones

• Site preparation and permitting: immediate priority to meet 2028 delivery.
• Core and shell construction: phased to allow early activation of critical systems (power, HVAC, security).
• Systems integration: WMS, gate control and customs interfaces configured before fit-out.
• Operational handover and ramp-up: staged acceptance to scale capacity with airline schedules.

Operational risks and mitigation

Even with a robust design there are pragmatic risks to consider: labour availability during construction and operations, technology integration delays, and supply chain constraints for building materials. On the flip side, siting next to Tor 31 and keeping the asset on Fraport’s books reduces land-use friction and simplifies logistic permitting — an advantage that cuts both ways.

Neutral take on stakeholder positions

Fraport’s commercial real estate team frames the investment as part of a push to expand CargoCity South’s appeal; Kuehne+Nagel positions the site as strategic capacity for dynamic supply chains. The neutral reading is straightforward: airport operator secures tenant commitment to anchor development, tenant secures tailored infrastructure to support sectoral growth.

What this means for shippers and carriers

Practically, shippers can expect improved connectivity and potentially lower handling times for time‑critical freight. Carriers will likely welcome the extra dock capacity and airside proximity, which help maintain schedule integrity. The emphasis on sustainability also fits with many corporate procurement green mandates — in other words, this development is not just about metres squared, it’s about meeting market expectations for speed, security, and environmental accountability.

Highlights and practical takeaway

Key highlights include the sizeable new warehouse footprint, the 16 dock configuration for rapid truck turnaround, the planned DGNB Gold certification and rooftop PV, and the strategic reinforcement of Frankfurt’s role for specialised sectors. Even the best press releases and the most honest feedback can’t replace first-hand experience when evaluating how a new site performs under live traffic conditions. On GetTransport.com, you can order your cargo transportation at the best prices globally at reasonable prices. This empowers you to make the most informed decision without unnecessary expenses or disappointments. Emphasising transparency and convenience, the platform helps with office and home moves, cargo deliveries, vehicle and bulky-good transport — all aligning neatly with the needs of shippers and forwarders planning to use FRA’s expanded capacity. Start planning your next delivery and secure your cargo with GetTransport.com. Book now GetTransport.com.com

In summary, the Fraport–Kuehne+Nagel lease brings tangible increases in warehouse and gate capacity at CargoCity South that should reduce dwell times and bolster handling for high-value, time-sensitive shipments. The project dovetails with broader logistica priorities — space optimisation, digitalisation, and sustainability — and will influence carico, trasporto merci, spedizione, consegna e trasporto choices by regional and international shippers. For anyone managing spedizione, inoltro, inviare o haulage operations, this is a development to watch: it enhances distribution capacity for pallet and containerised consignments, supports bulky and sensitive loads, and increases options for international and global forwarding. If you want reliable, cost-effective solutions for moving goods—whether parcel, pallet, container or housemove—GetTransport.com provides a convenient platform to compare offers and secure transport that matches your needs in today’s evolving logistics landscape.