Air Freight Operators in France: Overview

The French air freight market is one of the largest and most structured in Europe. Centred around the Paris Charles de Gaulle hub, it brings together a complete ecosystem of airlines, forwarders, integrators, and brokers transporting over 2.5 million tonnes of goods annually. This overview maps the key players and their respective roles.

The French Air Freight Landscape

A Market Dominated by Paris CDG

France is the EU’s largest air freight market, a position resting almost exclusively on Paris Charles de Gaulle. Processing over 2.2 million tonnes of freight annually, CDG concentrates over 95% of national cargo traffic.

This concentration reflects CDG’s dense airline network (over 300 destinations), the presence of Air France and FedEx hubs, and proximity to Europe’s largest consumer basin (Ile-de-France region, 12 million inhabitants).

Market Segments

The French air freight market structures into four main segments:

Cargo Airlines

Air France Cargo

Air France Cargo, integrated within the Air France-KLM group, is France’s largest air freight carrier. The airline leverages the substantial belly capacity of Air France’s long-haul fleet (Boeing 777-300ER, Airbus A350-900) and partners with Martinair (KLM cargo subsidiary) for freighter operations.

Air France Cargo offers recognised specialised products:

• Equation: temperature-controlled pharmaceutical transport
• Variation: high-value goods transport
• Dimension: oversized and out-of-gauge freight
• SAB (Special Animal Booking): live animal transport

Air France’s network provides direct connections to Africa (Europe’s leading service), North America, Asia, and the Middle East.

Foreign Airlines in the French Market

Numerous foreign cargo airlines regularly serve France, enriching the available offer:

Turkish Cargo: one of the world’s fastest-growing cargo carriers, with daily frequencies from Istanbul to CDG. Turkish Cargo has built a global hub-and-spoke network from Istanbul, offering connections to over 340 destinations.

Qatar Airways Cargo: regular operations between Doha and CDG, with a strong presence on Asia-Europe flows transiting via the Gulf.

Emirates SkyCargo: massive belly capacity on Emirates passenger flights from CDG, complemented by dedicated freighter flights (Boeing 777F).

Cargolux: the Luxembourg-based all-cargo airline serves CDG with Boeing 747-400F and 747-8F aircraft, offering significant capacity for heavy and oversized freight.

Integrators

FedEx Express

FedEx Express operates its European hub at Paris CDG since 1999, with a sorting centre capable of processing over 52,000 parcels per hour. Each night, between 40 and 50 FedEx aircraft converge on CDG for sorting and redistribution operations covering Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

FedEx is CDG’s largest night operator and a major employer in the airport zone, with over 3,000 employees on site.

DHL Express

DHL Express maintains significant operations at CDG, although its primary European hub is at Leipzig/Halle. DHL operates regular flights to CDG and uses the airport as a collection and distribution point for the French market.

UPS Airlines

UPS Airlines serves CDG with regular flights and uses France as a collection market for its global network. UPS’s European hub is located at Cologne/Bonn.

Freight Forwarders and Cargo Agents

Global Leaders in France

The major international forwarders are all present in France, often with their European or regional headquarters near CDG:

Bollore Logistics: France’s largest forwarder by volume, with particular expertise in Africa and industrial project transport. Bollore’s air division handles over 300,000 tonnes of air freight annually.

Geodis (SNCF group): France’s second-largest forwarder, strong in pharmaceutical and automotive air freight. Geodis operates a dedicated cargo platform at CDG.

Kuehne+Nagel: the global leader in air freight by volume, with a significant French presence and advanced digital solutions (KN FreightNet).

DB Schenker: strong in industrial and automotive air freight, with expertise in intra-European flows.

DSV: Danish forwarder experiencing strong growth following acquisitions of Panalpina and Agility GIL, with a significant presence in the French market.

French Specialists

Beyond the global giants, the French market features mid-sized specialist forwarders:

• Clasquin: Lyon-based publicly listed forwarder, expert in air and sea freight
• Groupe Heppner: specialist in European transport and logistics
• Daher: specialist in industrial and aerospace freight

Cargo Brokers

The Broker’s Specific Role

The cargo broker occupies a unique position in the ecosystem. Unlike forwarders who work with airlines’ regular capacity, brokers organise dedicated charter flights for specific needs: urgent shipments, oversized freight, seasonal peaks, or routes not regularly served.

Private Jets Connect positions itself as a specialist cargo charter broker, offering:

• Access to a network of over 200 cargo operators worldwide
• Comparative quotes within 2 hours
• Complete management of operational and regulatory aspects
• Expertise on complex shipments (dangerous goods, oversized, temperature-controlled)

French Market Outlook

The French air freight market benefits from solid fundamentals: central European geographic position, France’s economic power (2nd EU GDP), presence of industries heavily dependent on air freight (aerospace, luxury, pharmaceuticals), and quality airport infrastructure.

Trends shaping the market in coming years include cross-border e-commerce growth, strengthening environmental requirements, and freight operations digitalisation.