Back to the trend of the day: A vehicle probably broke through the fence at Leipzig/Halle airport at night (in German)

Poly Rating · from the trend of the day

Biggest Cargo Airports in Europe 2025 That Fly All Night

About 73% of Leipzig/Halle's 49,634 cargo flights in 2025 flew between 22:00 and 06:00, while Frankfurt, Europe's biggest cargo airport, may not schedule a single flight from 23:00 to 05:00.

No. 1: Leipzig/Halle Airport
10 places
Current as of October 18, 2026, 13:05 EDT

01Final list

The leading AIs each built their own list of ten independently. Here is one result that is easy to check: every place has a reason, a source, and the list of AIs that included it.

Order: from most to least AI agreement.

A bright badge means this AI put the entry on its list. A dim badge means it did not.

1
Leipzig/Halle Airport
About 73% of its 49,634 cargo flights in 2025 flew between 22:00 and 06:00, on 1.38M t in 2024. When the north runway closed on 17–18 Oct 2026, the south runway kept flying.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Nemotron, MiMo, DeepSeek, Kimi. Did not include: Meta, Wenxin.
In their lists: Claude: 1 · ChatGPT: 1 · Gemini: 1 · Nemotron: 2 · MiMo: 1 · DeepSeek: 1 · Kimi: 1
What each AI noted 7
- Claudeplace 1
  About 73% of its 49,634 cargo flights in 2025 (36,289) fell between 22:00 and 06:00. Close its runways at midnight and the DHL hub would stop.
- ChatGPTplace 1
  A 24/7 express hub with two parallel runways—and roughly 1.4 million cargo tonnes a year.
- Geminiplace 1
  DHL Express's global mother hub handles over 1.38 million tonnes annually with 55% of all flight movements taking place in the dead of night across two independent parallel runways.
- Nemotronplace 2
  1.6M tonnes; 52% of movements 22:00–06:00; 24h permit; 2 runways, both usable at night — DHL hub heart beats at night
- MiMoplace 1
  49,948 freight flights a year — more than any other EU airport — and on 18 October 2026 the south runway carried the whole night while the north one sat behind police tape.
  Source ↗
- DeepSeekplace 1
  73% of its 49,634 cargo flights in 2025 ran at night—Europe’s clearest single-runway-closure stress test.
  Source ↗
- Kimiplace 1
  DHL's 'night jump' sorts 150,000 parcels per hour mostly between midnight and 4 a.m. — DHL itself says an express hub 'cannot be operated' without 24-hour operation, and Leipzig has two independent 3,600 m runways to keep the sort going.
7 AIs put it here
Source ↗
2
Liège Airport
1.32M t in 2025 (+14%), open 24/7 with no curfew, about 60 flights a night. Its report puts the night share at only 34.5%, and it relies on one main runway.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Nemotron, MiMo, DeepSeek, Kimi. Did not include: Meta, Wenxin.
In their lists: Claude: 2 · ChatGPT: 2 · Gemini: 2 · Nemotron: 3 · MiMo: 2 · DeepSeek: 3 · Kimi: 3
What each AI noted 7
- Claudeplace 2
  Europe's leading full-freighter airport has 34.5% of its movements at night, down from 59% four years earlier, under a noise quota that tightens every year to 2033.
  Source ↗
- ChatGPTplace 2
  A specialist freighter hub that passed one million tonnes in 2024, unlike most passenger-led gateways.
- Geminiplace 2
  With 65% of movements nocturnal, this 1.16-million-tonne express gateway would lose nearly three-quarters of its commerce under a standard midnight curfew.
- Nemotronplace 3
  1.1M tonnes; 61% night movements; 24h permit; single runway — Europe's purest night cargo machine
- MiMoplace 2
  About 60 flights every night at an airport that waved goodbye to its last scheduled passenger flight on 4 January 2026.
  Source ↗
- DeepSeekplace 3
  1.3m tonnes with no curfew and no slot constraints—Europe’s only unrestricted 24/7 cargo hub.
- Kimiplace 3
  Europe's freighter heaven runs 24/7 with no curfew and grew ~14% in 2025 on Chinese e-commerce — but everything lands on one runway, making it the most night-dependent airport with a single point of failure.
7 AIs put it here
Source ↗
3
Cologne Bonn Airport
840,000 t a year under an open-ended 24-hour permit, and EUROCONTROL names it Europe's busiest airport in the deep night. It is UPS's European hub.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Nemotron, MiMo, DeepSeek, Kimi. Did not include: Meta, Wenxin.
In their lists: Claude: 3 · ChatGPT: 3 · Gemini: 3 · Nemotron: 7 · MiMo: 3 · DeepSeek: 2 · Kimi: 2
What each AI noted 7
- Claudeplace 3
  A passenger ban from midnight to 5 a.m. was proposed, but cargo flights are still allowed. The permit for 24-hour operation has no end date. Only the noise conditions expire, in 2030.
  Source ↗
- ChatGPTplace 3
  A major night-cargo airport with about 829,000 tonnes in 2024 and a runway-crossing that once trapped activists on taxiways.
  Source ↗
- Geminiplace 3
  Home to UPS's European air hub, 840,000 tonnes land here where midnight-to-dawn sorting makes nocturnal slots 48% of total daily volume across three crossing runways.
- Nemotronplace 7
  950k tonnes; 44% night movements; 24h permit; 3 runways, 2 usable at night — UPS/FedEx dual hub
- MiMoplace 3
  Germany's airport with an unlimited 24-hour licence is pricing its own nights out: a 747-400's night noise surcharge goes from €462.50 to €1,214 by 2028.
  Source ↗
- DeepSeekplace 2
  Europe’s busiest deep-night airport runs on an indefinite 24/7 permit and a 19 km fence.
  Source ↗
- Kimiplace 2
  EUROCONTROL measured ~89% of its cargo movements in the deep night — Europe's most night-addicted big cargo airport, and it has three runways and no curfew to feed UPS's only European hub.
  Source ↗
7 AIs put it here
Source ↗
4
Frankfurt Airport
Europe's biggest cargo airport at 1.99M t in 2025 (Fraport says about 2.1M t including mail), yet scheduled flights are banned from 23:00 to 05:00. It depends least on the night.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Nemotron, MiMo, DeepSeek, Kimi. Did not include: Meta, Wenxin.
In their lists: Claude: 8 · ChatGPT: 4 · Gemini: 6 · Nemotron: 1 · MiMo: 10 · DeepSeek: 6 · Kimi: 9
What each AI noted 7
- Claudeplace 8
  Europe's #1 or #2 by tonnage (1.95 Mt in 2024; 968,427 t in H1 2025) with the strictest night ban of the big hubs: nothing from 23:00 to 05:00. Its freight business was built to work around that gap.
  Source ↗
- ChatGPTplace 4
  Europe’s 2024 freight leader in Eurostat’s EU measure, yet scheduled flights stop from 23:00 to 05:00.
  Source ↗
- Geminiplace 6
  Processing 1.95 million tonnes with four runways, Europe's heaviest belly-cargo giant halts completely between 23:00 and 05:00 due to a legally binding night flight ban.
- Nemotronplace 1
  2.1M tonnes; 38% of movements 22:00–06:00; full 24h permit; 4 runways, 3 usable at night
- MiMoplace 10
  The biggest cargo airport in Europe is legally asleep from 23:00 to 05:00 — 2.1m tonnes without a single scheduled night movement.
  Source ↗
- DeepSeekplace 6
  Europe’s largest cargo airport handles 1.99m tonnes but bans scheduled flights between 23:00 and 05:00.
- Kimiplace 9
  Europe's biggest cargo hub (1.99M t) is also its best sleeper: every scheduled flight is banned 23:00-05:00, and Lufthansa calls that six-hour silence 'a terrible blow for Germany as a business location'.
  Source ↗
7 AIs put it here
Source ↗
5
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
About 1.92M t in 2025, but night flights are rationed: the cap is 17,557 movements and 17,500 were used in 2024–25. Unused night slots are lost.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Nemotron, MiMo, DeepSeek, Kimi. Did not include: Meta, Wenxin.
In their lists: Claude: 6 · ChatGPT: 6 · Gemini: 5 · Nemotron: 5 · MiMo: 8 · DeepSeek: 4 · Kimi: 7
What each AI noted 7
- Claudeplace 6
  Third in Europe by tonnage (about 1.87 Mt) but bound by a night-slot quota. Slots not used are lost for the season.
  Source ↗
- ChatGPTplace 6
  Eurostat counted 38,071 freight-and-mail flights in 2024, second among the listed EU cargo airports after Leipzig/Halle.
  Source ↗
- Geminiplace 5
  Europe's co-leader at 1.91 million tonnes maintains four runways in two independent doublets, allowing round-the-clock sorting under tightly rationed nocturnal noise energy quotas.
- Nemotronplace 5
  1.9M tonnes; 18% night movements; 23:00–06:00 curfew with exemptions; 4 runways, 2 night-usable
- MiMoplace 8
  Europe's No. 2 freight airport (1.87–1.91m t) moves most of it by day: at night, capacity is rationed rather than forbidden.
  Source ↗
- DeepSeekplace 4
  1.92m tonnes, but its 17,500 night movements are capped—still Europe’s biggest cargo airport with a hard night ceiling.
  Source ↗
- Kimiplace 7
  CDG still burns a grandfathered night quota — slots fell from 22,500 in 2003 to 17,877 by 2017 because unused night slots are permanently lost, and any airline without a quota may not fly at night at all.
  Source ↗
7 AIs put it here
Source ↗
6
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
1.43M t in 2025 (−4%), but only 3.7% of its movements fell at night in 2023. Sources quote the night cap as 32,000, 29,000 or 27,000 movements.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Nemotron, MiMo, DeepSeek, Kimi. Did not include: Meta, Wenxin.
In their lists: Claude: 9 · ChatGPT: 7 · Gemini: 7 · Nemotron: 4 · MiMo: 7 · DeepSeek: 7 · Kimi: 8
What each AI noted 7
- Claudeplace 9
  About 1.4 Mt in 2025 (-4%), with no more than 27,000 commercial night movements a year until a new decree is adopted. The Dutch government has also considered closing the airport from midnight to 5 a.m.
  Source ↗
- ChatGPTplace 7
  Its cargo position depends on what is counted: airport totals and Eurostat freight-and-mail measures use different scopes.
- Geminiplace 7
  Moving 1.4 million tonnes across six runways, the Dutch gateway faces shrinking government caps cutting night movements from 29,000 toward 27,000 annually.
- Nemotronplace 4
  1.5M tonnes; 22% night movements; strict 23:00–06:00 quota (32k movements/yr); 6 runways, 2 night-usable
- MiMoplace 7
  1.44m tonnes of freight under a nightly ration of 32,000 movements — and a live plan to close the airport from midnight to 06:00.
  Source ↗
- DeepSeekplace 7
  1.43m tonnes under a 27,000-night-movement cap, down from 32,000—the quota is tightening.
- Kimiplace 8
  Only 3.7% of Schiphol's movements are at night — and Dutch politics is cutting even that: the night quota is falling from 32,000 to 29,000 and the cabinet now wants 27,000.
7 AIs put it here
Source ↗
7
Luxembourg Airport (Findel)
830,468 t in 2024 on one runway, behind a 23:00–06:00 curfew. Yet 2,862 flights landed or took off during curfew hours in 2025, and more than 3,000 in 2024.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, MiMo, DeepSeek, Kimi. Did not include: Meta, Nemotron, Wenxin.
In their lists: Claude: 7 · ChatGPT: 10 · Gemini: 8 · MiMo: 5 · DeepSeek: 10 · Kimi: 5
What each AI noted 6
- Claudeplace 7
  One runway, about 830,000 t a year, and Cargolux asking for night flights while the city council says no.
  Source ↗
- ChatGPTplace 10
  A cargo-specialist gateway in the European top ten, although a verified comparable night-movement share was unavailable.
- Geminiplace 8
  Cargolux's base moves 800,000 tonnes on a single strip where a 23:00-to-06:00 curfew only bends for delayed home-carrier arrivals until midnight.
- MiMoplace 5
  A 'curfew' that thousands of flights a year cross: the AIP closes the field 23:00–06:00, yet Cargolux's jumbos keep arriving.
- DeepSeekplace 10
  817,920 tonnes behind a 23:00–06:00 curfew—the quietest night profile in the top tonnage tier.
- Kimiplace 5
  Cargolux's home base is the highest-tonnage single-runway cargo hub in Europe — when the runway closed 23:00-06:00 for works, every Cargolux arrival had to be individually re-planned around the curfew.
6 AIs put it here
Source ↗
8
Istanbul Airport
1.97M t in 2025 and Europe's No. 1 in 2024. It runs 24 hours with no curfew, but no published figure says how much of its freight flies at night.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, MiMo, DeepSeek, Kimi. Did not include: Meta, Gemini, Nemotron, Wenxin.
In their lists: Claude: 4 · ChatGPT: 5 · MiMo: 6 · DeepSeek: 5 · Kimi: 6
What each AI noted 5
- Claudeplace 4
  Europe's biggest cargo airport in 2024 (about 1.97 Mt, +24%), and one of the few that still has room to grow: its cargo city is designed for 4.5 Mt.
  Source ↗
- ChatGPTplace 5
  ACI Europe put it first in 2024 at 1.97 million tonnes; the next-year ordering differs across published summaries.
  Source ↗
- MiMoplace 6
  Europe's largest round-the-clock cargo airport: 1.97m tonnes in 2024 and a cargo centre being built for 5.5m.
  Source ↗
- DeepSeekplace 5
  1.97m tonnes and no curfew, yet cargo still plays second fiddle to passenger growth.
  Source ↗
- Kimiplace 6
  Europe's cargo runner-up at 1.97M t runs around the clock with five runways — the only mega-hub that is both bigger than Frankfurt's tonnage and free of any night curfew.
  Source ↗
5 AIs put it here
Source ↗
9
East Midlands Airport
413,664 t in FY2025/26, about a quarter of Frankfurt's, and 45% of its movements fall at night (23:00–07:00). All of it runs on one runway with no fallback.
Included it: Claude, Gemini, Nemotron, MiMo, Kimi. Did not include: ChatGPT, Meta, DeepSeek, Wenxin.
In their lists: Claude: 5 · Gemini: 4 · Nemotron: 8 · MiMo: 4 · Kimi: 4
What each AI noted 5
- Claudeplace 5
  It has no slot limits and 24-hour operation. Its 413,664 tonnes in 2025/26 are a quarter of Frankfurt's, so night access is the whole offer.
  Source ↗
- Geminiplace 4
  Britain's premier express freight hub carries 400,000 tonnes on a single runway that operates 24/7, leaving zero redundancy if an overnight incident blocks the strip.
- Nemotronplace 8
  380k tonnes; 58% night movements; 24h permit; single runway — UK's purest express cargo night hub
- MiMoplace 4
  Britain's biggest freight hub lives at night on a single runway: 22,000 freight movements a year, most of them while the country sleeps.
  Source ↗
- Kimiplace 4
  The UK's busiest pure-freight airport does 45% of all its movements at night — nearly half the airport lives between 23:00 and 07:00 on a single runway.
  Source ↗
5 AIs put it here
Source ↗
10
London Heathrow Airport
1.55M t in 2025, carried almost entirely in passenger-jet bellies. It schedules no freight flights in its 23:30–06:00 night quota period.
Included it: Claude, ChatGPT, Nemotron, MiMo, Kimi. Did not include: Meta, Gemini, DeepSeek, Wenxin.
In their lists: Claude: 10 · ChatGPT: 8 · Nemotron: 6 · MiMo: 9 · Kimi: 10
What each AI noted 5
- Claudeplace 10
  1.53 Mt in 2024, mostly carried in passenger-aircraft bellies, so its freight loses the least if night flying stops.
  Source ↗
- ChatGPTplace 8
  A belly-freight giant at 1.53 million tonnes in ACI Europe’s 2024 figures, but tightly night-restricted.
  Source ↗
- Nemotronplace 6
  1.4M tonnes; 6% night movements; strict 23:00–06:00 quota (5,800/yr); 2 runways, both night-usable but capped
  Source ↗
- MiMoplace 9
  1.5m tonnes of cargo through the world's most famous night quota — 80% of Heathrow's 'night' flights land after 04:30 to earn their slot.
  Source ↗
- Kimiplace 10
  Heathrow moves 1.55M t of cargo but schedules zero freight flights in its night quota period — 80% of its 5,800 permitted night movements are passenger arrivals landing 04:30-06:00.
  Source ↗
5 AIs put it here
Source ↗

More about the top three ↓

02More about the top three

The ranking is above. Here is more about the three places at the top: what they are, why they are here, and what is worth knowing.

The three night shares are not measured the same way. Leipzig/Halle is 22:00–06:00 cargo flights, Liège is all aircraft movements at night, and Cologne Bonn is EUROCONTROL's deep-night cargo movements.

1Leipzig/Halle Airport

No. 1 — Leipzig/Halle Airport. On the lists of 7 of 9 AIs; median place there: 1. Most of its cargo flights happen at night, and two runways let DHL's night hub keep running.

Did you know

Leipzig was the only airport in the Communist Bloc to be served by Concorde. Those flights began in 1986, years before the cargo hub existed.
Source ↗

What it is: German airport and DHL Express's main sorting hub.
Its edge: Highest night share: about 73% of cargo flights fly 22:00–06:00.
Who should know: Useful for anyone curious how a whole hub can depend on night flying.

Share of flights at night73% of cargo flights at night
HeadquartersSchkeuditz

Wikipedia · Wikidata

History

In early 2008 DHL moved its European hub from Brussels Airport to Leipzig/Halle. From then on the airport became a major cargo base.
Source ↗

Keep in mind

Critics say Leipzig/Halle is one of the few German airports allowed night flights for express cargo, and that companies like DHL decide what counts as express. A 2022 party statement asks for a state check. The paper says it did not verify these claims.
Source ↗
Night cargo here grew out of a 2006 court ruling that allowed night flights for cargo planes only. The court kept the right to revisit the matter if the noise proved too great.
Source ↗

Where to go further

Check this before you go: in August 2026 the airport paused its visitor tours and closed the visitor terrace after a drone incident. The article says tours will return only when the airport announces it.
Source ↗

Video: Why did Russia target Leipzig airport in alleged drone attack? • FRANCE 24 English · FRANCE 24 English

Compare the top three ↓

2Liège Airport

No. 2 — Liège Airport. On the lists of 7 of 9 AIs; median place there: 2. It runs 24/7 with no curfew and is growing fast, but its night share is lower and it has one main runway.

Liege airport — The original uploader was Vberger at French Wikipedia . · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Did you know

Alibaba's logistics arm, Cainiao, opened the first warehouse of its European hub at Liège. It covers 30,000 square meters, with a 3,000 square meter office building attached. Online-shop parcels are sorted there.
Source ↗

What it is: Belgian airport that specialises in freight planes.
Its edge: Biggest growth, 14% in 2025, and no curfew at all.
Who should know: Useful for seeing that big cargo can grow without being mostly at night.

Share of flights at night34.5% of movements at night
HeadquartersGrâce-Hollogne

Wikipedia · Wikidata

Why it is here

Liège handled 1,324,579 tons of cargo in 2025, up from 1,162,935 in 2024. That is +14%, the strongest growth among Europe's 10 largest cargo airports.
Source ↗ ✓ confirmed by several AIs
Night flying at Liège has changed a lot. In 2025, 34.5% of aircraft movements were at night, compared with 59% in 2020. That is a big shift toward daytime flights.
Source ↗

History

In March 1998 TNT Express picked Liège as its European hub. Its Cologne site had run out of space, and Liège won after a study of 57 criteria.
Source ↗

Keep in mind

In September 2024 a Brussels appeal court ordered the Walloon Region, Liège Airport and FedEx Express Belgium to compensate residents who say airport noise made their homes “uninhabitable”.
Source ↗

Compare the top three ↓

3Cologne Bonn Airport

No. 3 — Cologne Bonn Airport. On the lists of 7 of 9 AIs; median place there: 3. It has an open-ended 24-hour permit and is Europe's busiest airport in the deep night, serving UPS's European hub.

Flughafen Köln/Bonn GmbH · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Did you know

Cologne Bonn hosts a training centre for German and European astronaut programmes. A retired Airbus A300 ZERO-G, once used to simulate weightlessness, now stands as an interactive museum exhibit near Terminal 2.
Source ↗

What it is: German airport and UPS's European air hub.
Its edge: Busiest in the deep night, with a 24-hour permit that has no end date.
Who should know: Useful for seeing how a night permit and noise rules interact.

Share of flights at night~89% deep-night cargo moves
HeadquartersCologne, Cologne Government Region

Wikipedia · Wikidata

Why it is here

Cologne Bonn handled 840,000 tonnes of cargo in 2025, exactly the same as in 2024. That is much less than Leipzig/Halle or Liège, but it held steady in a weak economy.
Source ↗
Cologne Bonn has an unlimited night flight permit. From 2026 a new fee list makes night flights costlier. For loud planes like the Boeing 747-400, the night surcharge rises to 1,214 euros by 2028.
Source ↗

History

In 1986 United Parcel Service (UPS) chose Cologne Bonn Airport as the location for its European hub. The choice tied the airport to cargo flights from that year on.
Source ↗

Keep in mind

A proposed night ban would cover passenger flights only, leaving night-time UPS and FedEx flights alone. The same report says the night permit was extended from 2015 to 2030 on condition of better noise protection.
Source ↗

What people say

“The state government has set a clear signal for economic growth, more jobs and prosperity for the whole region.” — Uwe Detering, chairman of the aviation committee (2008)
Source ↗

Where to go further

Visit the viewing terrace at Terminal 1 by day to watch planes take off and land, often every few minutes at busy times. It is free, reportedly open 06:30 to 22:00, so check before you go. Night cargo work stays out of view.
Source ↗

Compare the top three ↓

The top three side by side

	Leipzig/Halle Airport	Liège Airport	Cologne Bonn Airport
In the AIs' lists	7 / 9	7 / 9	7 / 9
Share of flights at night	73% of cargo flights at night	34.5% of movements at night	~89% deep-night cargo moves
Headquarters	Schkeuditz	Grâce-Hollogne	Cologne, Cologne Government Region
Put first by	Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, MiMo, DeepSeek, Kimi	—	—

Places with the same number of AIs are ordered by their average place in the AIs' own lists.

03Worth knowing

What the AIs noticed while building the list.

Counted by tonnes, Frankfurt is the leader; counted by cargo flights, Leipzig/Halle is. Eurostat counts 49,948 freight flights at Leipzig in 2024, the most of any EU airport, against 38,071 at Paris CDG.

Noticed by:

Included it: ChatGPT, MiMo, Kimi. Did not include: Claude, Meta, Gemini, Nemotron, DeepSeek, Wenxin.

01Final list

Leipzig/Halle Airport

Liège Airport

Cologne Bonn Airport

Frankfurt Airport

Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

Luxembourg Airport (Findel)

Istanbul Airport

East Midlands Airport

London Heathrow Airport

02More about the top three

1Leipzig/Halle Airport

Did you know

2Liège Airport

Did you know

3Cologne Bonn Airport

Did you know

The top three side by side

More ratings

03Worth knowing

04Questions people ask

05How we counted

1The question

2Why this topic

3Where it applies

4What we looked at

5Who ranked

6How the places were set

06Each AI's own list

What Claude noticed

What ChatGPT noticed

What Gemini noticed

What Nemotron noticed

What MiMo noticed

What DeepSeek noticed

What Kimi noticed