TNT is launching a five-time weekly B737-400 freighter service between Venice and its Liege air hub in Belgium. The addition of Venice to TNT’s international air network will benefit exporters and importers trading with North-East Italy, who need guaranteed next-day delivery, flexibility and late collections.

The Veneto region, whose capital is Venice, is home to a dense network of export-oriented companies, most of which are small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). With the new air connection, TNT further strengthens its service to SMEs in Europe’s “Blue Banana” economic region.

The morning flight from Liege arrives at Venice Airport Marco Polo (VCE) at 6:00 AM CET and continues onto Ljubljana (Slovenia) before returning to Liege. Five weekly flights from Athens to Liege will stop in Venice on the northbound leg. They depart Venice at 11:00 PM CET, an advantage for customers who require late pick-up and next-day delivery.

To ensure smooth connections between air and road operations, the air gateway is located in the existing TNT Marcon depot, near Venice. It is TAPA-certified and can handle up to 10 air freight containers (or ULDs) with a loading capacity of 2,000 kg each. Opened in 2013, TNT’s Marcon depot uses advanced automated scanning and sorting equipment. From February 2015, the air gateway and the depot will use a new, fully automated sorting machine, which will speed up the sorting of export shipments by two hours. This equipment is being rolled out across TNT Italy depots.

TNT has been active in Venice since 1984. The Marcon depot employs 90 people and covers 3,776 square metres. It manages domestic shipments through 26 distribution vehicles and 6 "mototopi", the motor barges used to transport goods in the lagoon and into the historic centre of Venice. Now that the air gateway is open, the facility will function as a model of intermodal transport hub in a logistically challenging area.

About TNT
TNT is one of the world’s largest express delivery companies. On a daily basis, TNT delivers close to one million consignments ranging from documents and parcels to palletised freight. The company operates road and air transportation networks in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas. TNT made €6.7 billion in revenue in 2013.