Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
eration of local noise regulations has developed: whereas London Heathrow, Amster-
dam Schiphol and Madrid Barajas each have a quota count system to restrict night-
time operations, Brussels uses a different quota system and the Italian government
recently considered a proposal to ban all night-time operations.
A series of recent cases illustrates the implications of stricter noise regulations
for the operations of the integrated carriers. Stringent noise restrictions at one indi-
vidual airport location may solve a problem locally, but without an upgraded air
fleet will only shift the noise burden to another airport. TNT Express moved its
main European hub across the border from Cologne in Germany to Liege in Bel-
gium because of night-time noise restrictions that banned operations of its ageing
Boeing 727s - the typical workhorse of the integrated carriers. When it began to oper-
ate at Liege in 1998, it was confronted by a 5000-strong demonstration against its
relocation (De Wulf, 1998); as a consequence, TNT Express is under constant pres-
sure to operate newer, quieter aircraft.
Nuremburg in Germany subsequently banned Boeing 727 operations, which led
to DHL rescheduling and re-routing cargo away from the airport. It has been esti-
mated that, as a result, the locality lost over 400 jobs at DHL and the airport (Jones,
2001). DHL tackled the problem by re-routing and redistributing traffic across its
European network, with the direct effect of a lowering of delivery service levels. This
has been cited by DHL as one of the key factors for a major production plant halv-
ing its production (Jones, 2001).
Brussels National, where DHL currently has its main European hub, has tight-
ened noise regulations and plans to impose severe restrictions on night-time opera-
tions. Regulation has become more severe since 1994, and in 1999 the minister for
transport tried to close down the night-time operation altogether with little notice
period (De Wulf, 2000). The irony of this situation was that the Belgian govern-
ment had given DHL a number of incentives to locate its main hub at Brussels dur-
ing the late 1980s. The current situation will mean the removal of all Boeing 727
operations, the mainstay of the airline's fleet, by January 2003 (Ewers, 2001). Per-
mission to continue using Brussels at night was only granted on the basis of DHL's
investment of US$1.3 billion in 44 newly converted Boeing 757 aircraft that meet
the proposed noise restrictions.
In response to pressure on its main Brussels hub in 1995, DHL began to develop
sub-hubs and today these are at Bergamo, Copenhagen, Vitoria, Metz, Cologne and
East Midlands, which provide them with alternative routings for cargo and less depen-
dence upon Brussels. Extra pressure for capacity at previously less-utilized points in
the integrator's network has placed new challenges on the airports selected as sub-hubs
in DHL's network and has provided new challenges to maintain supply chain net-
works. A case study of the East Midlands sub-hub highlights some of the issues
faced by integrated carriers and provides insight into some of the strategic responses
that are being considered.
C
ASE
STUDY
: DHL
AT
E
AST
M
IDLANDS
A
IRPORT
Restrictions at Brussels Airport have led to growth for DHL being re-routed via
sub-hub points such as East Midlands Airport in the UK. The data tells its own
