DHL diverts freighter flights from strike at CVG
12 / 12 / 2023
DHL plane at CVG. Photo: RDNichols/ Shutterstock
DHL Express has confirmed it diverted freighter flights away from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) to avoid air cargo operational disruption ahead of a strike by more than 1,100 workers.
The strike action began on December 7 and is being undertaken by DHL Express workers in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union.
This industrial action has coincided with the traditional peak period for air cargo volumes, but DHL Group said in a statement it was able to “maintain our operations at full capacity across our US network”.
CVG is the main international hub in the US for DHL Express. The hub facilitates 130 daily DHL flights and is home to a fleet of 60 DHL aircraft.
At CVG, DHL handles shipments bound for the US, Canada, Mexico and Latin America, and processes approximately 50m international shipments annually.
“DHL Express is in ongoing contract negotiations with the US Teamsters representing a portion of our employees at our Cincinnati (CVG) Global Hub. In an attempt to influence these negotiations, the Teamsters have initiated job actions in CVG and a number of other pick-up and delivery locations in the US,” said the statement.
“DHL was fully prepared for these actions and has enacted contingency plans, including moving flights and volume away from CVG to other key strategic DHL locations, and deploying replacement staff in other locations to ensure we maintain full-service capabilities for our customers.
“Thanks to these preemptive and proactive steps, we can confirm that we have been able to maintain our operations at full capacity across our U.S. network. Our staffing levels at CVG have remained at a high level and we anticipate no significant disruptions to our service during the coming week.”
The Teamsters union confirmed to Air Cargo News that the strike is ongoing.
DHL Group added that DHL Express is continuing to work with the Teamsters Union on contract negotiations, but there is “no agreed deadline” for negotiations.
The Teamsters union represent more than 6,000 members at DHL across the US.
Aside from DHL Express, cargo carriers operating at CVG include Alaska Air Cargo, American Cargo, Delta Cargo, FedEx, Southwest Cargo, and United Cargo.
