Air mail handling at Zurich Airport: SWISS WorldCargo relies on FIEGE Air Cargo Logistics

Fast, flexible, secure and reliable – air post offers numerous advantages over other methods of dispatch. To ensure that the transport of letters and parcels by air runs smoothly, efficient ground-handling processes are essential. At Zurich Airport, SWISS WorldCargo’s central hub, the air freight specialist relies on FIEGE.

Highlights at a glance

Several million kilograms of letters and parcels annually: For mail handling at its hub at Zurich Airport, SWISS WorldCargo, the air freight division of Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS), relies on FIEGE Air Cargo Logistics (FACL).
A spot-on start: A smooth go-live and ramp-up, a significantly shortened stabilisation phase – and a joint roadmap featuring automation, lean management and new training concepts.
Volumes exceeding targets: A two-shift system ensures better aircraft utilisation and more same-day airmail; a dedicated X-ray facility handles the security screening of airmail bags.

Airmail has a long history. Thousands of years before the world first heard of the Montgolfière or the Wright brothers made the first powered flight in their ‘Flyer’, people in Ancient Egypt came up with the idea of sending important messages through the air by the quickest means possible. They used ordinary domestic pigeons as their means of transport, attaching small messages to their feet, which the birds delivered over many kilometres across the vast Nile Valley.

Nowadays, the birds used to transport airmail are made of steel. And at Zurich Airport, many of them bear the Swiss cross on their vertical stabilisers, as the airmail business is largely in the hands of SWISS WorldCargo. The air freight division of SWISS International Air Lines (SWISS) transports several million kilograms of letters and parcels annually in the cargo holds of its fleet. For mail handling at its Zurich hub, SWISS WorldCargo has been relying on FIEGE Air Cargo Logistics (FACL) since the start of the year.

A perfect start

For FACL, the FIEGE Group’s air freight subsidiary, the air mail business was completely new territory at the time.

Since our foundation in 2020, as a handling partner for Lufthansa Cargo, we have been responsible for air freight handling at Frankfurt Airport. We have already dealt with works of art, prototype vehicles and dangerous goods – but never with airmail.

Benjamin Looser

Managing Director of FIEGE Air Cargo Logistics (FACL)

Consequently, FACL first had to meet all the formal requirements in order to be allowed to provide the service at all. As the official go-live date drew ever closer, those in charge did find themselves getting a bit nervous for a brief moment: “We only received the last outstanding approval a few hours before we were due to take delivery of the first airmail bag – a precision landing in the truest sense of the word, which would not have been possible without the support of our colleagues at FIEGE Switzerland,” recalls Looser.

Fiege Mitarbeiter fertigen Luftfracht ab — FIEGE Air Cargo Logistics handles air mail for SWISS WorldCargo at Zurich Airport.

Like a Swiss watch

The subsequent go-live and ramp-up then went significantly better than many would have expected. Christian Wyss, Head of Cargo Offering Development & Steering at SWISS WorldCargo, explains: “Of course, ‘perfect’ is always a big word, but it really did go smoothly. Everything clicked into place straight away and all deadlines were met.” This was mainly down to good teamwork, as Looser adds: “Special thanks go to our client SWISS WorldCargo, who assigned two staff members specifically for the ramp-up; they supported us round the clock and worked hand in hand with us.”

The stabilisation phase, which is standard practice, turned out to be significantly shorter than originally planned. Instead, the new partners were able to move straight into the optimisation phase – touch-and-go.

Together, we drew up a roadmap setting out how we would like to further develop our airmail handling operations. This included, amongst other things, automation, lean management and new training and development programmes for qualified staff.

Christian Wyss

Head of the ‘Freight Offering Development and Management’ department at SWISS WorldCargo

Ready for take-off

The volume of letters and parcels handled by SWISS WorldCargo this year has exceeded targets. “Our airmail business is performing well. This is partly because FACL has switched to a two-shift system at our Zurich hub, which gives us greater flexibility, allows us to utilise our aircraft more efficiently and enables us to dispatch more airmail on the same day,” says Wyss. He is very satisfied with the quality of the service – and SWISS WorldCargo’s existing customers are too.

Looking ahead, the SWISS air freight specialist plans to support many more customers with SWISS Mail – whether for imports, exports or transfers. FACL now also carries out security checks on airmail bags on behalf of SWISS WorldCargo; without these checks, the bags are not permitted to be loaded. A dedicated X-ray system was purchased for the hub for this purpose. Looser says: “From the very first moment, the collaboration has been characterised by open and honest communication. The fact that, after less than a year, we are already discussing how we can expand our partnership is a wonderful sign of trust.” Well then: have a good flight.