DHL to build $192 million aviation maintenance facility at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport

Express shipping provider DHL will invest $192 million at its hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport to accommodate its growing fleet of parcel delivery planes.

Scheduled for completion by the end of 2025, the project will add a 305,000-square-foot aviation maintenance facility with additional space for aircraft components storage, offices, three maintenance parking gates, and eight new aircraft gates, the Plantation, Florida-based company said today.

The aviation maintenance hangar will be built on an additional 50 acres that DHL will be leasing and will be able to house two Boeing-777s side by side. With this expansion project, line maintenance activities will also be weatherproofed and will accommodate maintenance tasks for DHL’s fleet of 737s, 767s, and 777s.

Between 2018 and 2022, DHL purchased 28 new B777-200F freighters from Boeing, of which 19 are currently in service. The remaining aircraft will be delivered between 2023 to 2025. Earlier this year, the company announced the order of nine Mammoth-converted B777-200LR freighters from Jetran to be delivered between 2024 and 2027. This is all part of the company’s plan to modernize its long-haul intercontinental fleet following its sustainability commitments.

DHL’s CVG hub currently operates on 194 acres with 67 aircraft parking gates and 6.4 million sq. ft. of ramp area. It sits at the heart of the DHL U.S. network with 130 daily flights and a fleet of 60 aircraft, connecting customers from more than 220 countries and territories worldwide to every corner of the U.S. It is also one of three DHL global superhubs, with the other two based in Hong Kong and Germany.

“We are committed to serving our customers and their growing demands, which require an investment to expand our footprint at CVG,” Mike Parra, CEO for DHL Express Americas, said in a release. “Our Americas hub is one of three DHL global superhubs and completes the backbone of our intercontinental network. We are excited for this new project to meet the needs of our partners and employees with a new carbon neutral, state-of-the-art facility for maintenance operations of our growing fleet.”