DHL Express prepares to open $140M cargo facility at Lyons airport

DHL Express is moving this summer into a $140 million facility at Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport with five times the parcel processing capacity of the current building and the designation as the first in France to handle both time definite and day definite international shipments.

The 261,500-square foot gateway has triple the amount of operating space than the current terminal and will be able to sort up to 17,500 pieces per hour compared to 3,500 pieces, DHL announced this week. High-tech equipment to facilitate processing and reduce operator handling will save an hour in parcel processing time. There are 48 loading docks, up from 15 in the current location, and 79 van parking spots. The expanded gateway is DHL Express’s second largest investment in France, only topped by the $200 million to expand the air hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport in 2021. 

The transition to the new facility will be completed in mid-August, spokesman Dirk Heinrichs said in an email message. 

In a first for a DHL parcel center in France, the gateway will handle less-urgent day definite cross-border shipments to nine countries in Europe via air and road connections alongside express deliveries.

In addition to accommodating expected shipping growth, the new location will host the company’s regional commercial and support functions. A total of 400 employees will work there, up from 360 in the existing terminal. 

The current facility in Lyons handles 38,000 parcels per day, and up to 60,000 during the peak holiday season. 

Lyon-Saint Exupery Airport is located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, representing more than 20% of DHL Express traffic in France. The region is a convenient transshipment point for key trade routes across Europe. DHL Express has seen parcel activity in France grow by 15% over the past five years. It handled more than 45 million parcels last year, up 1% from 2023. In the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, volumes have increased more than 20%, according to the company.

“This site uniquely covers our entire service offering, from international to local, urgent to less urgent. It will enable us to continue providing excellent service to our customers in the years to come, with the possibility of expanding in future to support the increase in global flows,” Philippe Prétat, CEO of DHL Express France, said in a news release.

The site will be 55% more energy efficient than the old one. It is equipped with 78 charging stations for electric vehicles, energy-efficient lighting, fast-opening and closing dock doors to minimize heat loss in winter and cool air loss in the summer, a reflective white roof and rainwater harvesting systems, according to DHL.

Another Lyon cargo facility

In related news, ground handling agent Worldwide Flight Services announced Thursday it has signed a 20-year lease to operate a large air cargo terminal in the CargoPort area of Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport, due to open in summer 2026. The new DHL facility is located in the same dedicated freight zone.

Nearly a quarter of the 206,000-square foot transfer facility will be devoted to refrigerated storage for pharmaceutical shipments and perishable goods. WFS said the facility’s modern design will promote efficient cargo processing, especially for pharma shipments in one of the top vaccine-producing regions of the world. The building includes 36 dock doors, including five specially configured for aircraft pallets. 

The project is being developed by U.S.-based warehouse landlord Prologis, the Lyon Airport authority and French real estate agency Groupe em2c. WFS and Singapore-based parent company SATS operate 

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

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