Leipzig/Halle · air cargo hub

A freighter at night (riding along, key F)

1. 01

   on approach

2. 02

   rolling out after landing

3. 03

   taxiing to the stand

4. 04

   at the stand: being unloaded and loaded

5. 05

   pushback, taxiing to the runway

6. 06

   taking off

What is shown – why – for whom

Facilities and areas in the model

• Hub apron

  Around 60 freighters land and take off at the hub each night; each is unloaded, sorted and reloaded in little more than an hour (accelerated here). Number of stands schematic.

• South runway 08R/26L

  3,600 m runway. Here landings and take-offs face east; their rate follows the node’s freight on the map (model).

• Sorting halls

  Inside the halls cargo is sorted by destination; on the landside trucks collect the shipments.

• A14 near the Schkeuditz interchange

  Ahead of the junction with the A9 traffic backs up when demand exceeds capacity. Utilisation as on the map (model).

Processes in the model

How a cargo airport can use the model

• Operations and planning

  The freighters leave on schedule, even when the truck is stuck in traffic. The model shows when a shipment gets tight at the Schkeuditz interchange.

  Per chiHub operations, planning, air cargo logistics

• Onboarding and training

  Ride along with key F: a freighter from approach via the stand to take-off, a truck from the gate to the loading point, a vehicle in the tailback. One line says what is happening.

  Per chiNew staff, airport trainees

• Local authorities and economic development

  The supply chain shows step by step how an urgent spare part reaches a customer in Europe overnight – and what the hub does for the region.

  Per chiRegion, economic development, chambers

• Schools, universities, museums

  How does a night hub for air cargo work? Landing, apron, hall and take-off stand in one sequence – also as a demo without anyone at the controls.

  Per chiSchools, universities, museums and exhibitions

• Public communication

  The ‘Winter chaos’ scenario brings snow and ice: roads lose up to a third of their capacity and the Schkeuditz interchange bottleneck runs above 100 %. Four times the speed shows how it develops, and one tap brings back today.

  Per chiPublic relations, associations

What you can change

What the model gives a cargo airport

• 01

  The hub in rhythm

  Landing, handling, take-off: the model shows the rhythm of the freighters on the real site, station by station.

• 02

  Air and road together

  In the model, 72 % of the node’s volume goes by road. You see why a jam at the Schkeuditz interchange hits night freight.

• 03

  Disruptions without damage

  Motorway closure, snow and ice hit this site hardest. Trigger them, then return to today.

• 04

  Site and map in one model

  The landing rate follows the node’s freight on the Germany map, shown with live values in the site profile.

• 05

  For visits and big screens

  Runs in the browser and on large projections, with a demo that starts without anyone at the controls.

• 

  Frankfurt interchange (A3/A5)

  One of Europe’s busiest motorway interchanges as a walkable model: the A3 and A5 cross, the weaving section becomes the bottleneck, and the tailback grows with freight, holidays or snow.

• 

  Großbeeren · freight village Berlin South

  The freight village on the Berlin ring as a walkable model: distribution centres for retail and food, an intermodal terminal for goods from Hamburg, and the expressway the capital’s supply depends on.

• 

  Lehrte · MegaHub

  A train-to-train transfer facility as a walkable model: six tracks of 720 m each, three gantry cranes, driverless transporters – and freight trains regrouped without shunting.

• 

  Germany · freight flows and nodes

  All of Germany as a map of blocks: 27 nodes, 55 freight flows as bands of light, eleven bottlenecks with traffic lights. Controls, seasons, disruptions and ten scenarios change every flow at once, compared with today.

• 

  Hamburg · Container Terminal Altenwerder

  An automated container terminal as a walkable model: up to 14 container gantries, driverless transport vehicles, the block yard, a rail station for trains up to 740 m and the truck gate.

• 

  Bremerhaven · car terminal and river quay

  Bremerhaven as a walkable model: almost five kilometres of river quay for the largest container ships, straddle carriers, car trains and parking for about 95,000 vehicles at the mouth of the Weser.

• 

  Wilhelmshaven · JadeWeserPort and LNG terminal

  Germany’s only deep-water port as a walkable model: the container quay on the Jade with straddle carriers and rail, plus the floating LNG terminal, a tank farm and the crude-oil pipeline to the refineries.

• 

  Duisburg · logport I (Rheinhausen)

  A trimodal inland port on the Rhine as a walkable model: Rhine barges with sea containers from Rotterdam, gantries and yard, trains to the south, Eastern Europe and Asia, trucks into the region.