Press release
TNT Express wins the day on long running night flights court case
TNT Express – the leading b2b express carrier – last week won a long-running legal dispute with protesters objecting to night flights at its air hub in Liège Belgium.
The protestors wanted the Court of Appeal of Liège to close the airport or to ban all night flights by TNT Express.
The court dismissed the case on every argument and declared that TNT has:
- Complied with all regulations and demonstrated its commitment to controlling the environmental impact of night flights
- Adhered to flight procedures, maximum noise levels, etc, and fully complied with laid down regulations. The rare instances of deviations have been at an acceptable level
Additionally, the court stated that:
- Night flights were recognised as unavoidable and a legitimate necessity to a modern economy
- Liège airport, through TNT's night operation, is considered as an essential contributor to the local economy
Parties will have three months to file a recourse before the Belgian Supreme Court ("Hof van cassatie"). This would not take the format of a new court case. It would involve checking to ensure that the Court of Appeal has followed all the correct procedures and legal principles.
Commenting on the very positive outcome of the court case, Niky Terzakis Managing Director of TNT Airways said: "We are very pleased with the result of the court case which clears TNT Express of any wrongdoing and demonstrates that we are an environmentally responsible operator. The verdict is also welcome news for the 1,250 people we employ at Liège.
"Continued operation of night flights from our Liège hub is absolutely fundamental to the future success and prosperity of the company. This is also why we recently announced a six-year investment programme, expected to total €94 million, to expand capacity and upgrade facilities at our sortation hub."
"We will continue to hold constructive dialogues with our neighbours to discuss issues relating to night flights."
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For further information please contact:
Ian Whitaker
TNT Central Press Office
RJH Public Relations
Tel: +44 20 7491 2291
Email: ian@rjhpr.com
David Hare
PR Director
Divisional Head Office
TNT Express
Tel: +44 121 635 5212
Mob: + 44 7836 785 728
Email: david.hare@tpg.com
Notes to editors
- TNT Express is the world's leading business to business express delivery company. The company delivers 3.3 million parcels, documents and pieces of freight a week to over 200 countries using its network of nearly 900 depots, hubs and sortation centres. TNT Express operates over 18,000 road vehicles and 43 aircraft and has the biggest door-to-door air and road express delivery infrastructure in Europe.
- TNT Express employs 45,000 staff worldwide and is the first ever organisation to achieve global recognition as an Investor in People. The company reported sales in 2003 of €4.251 billion. Profits of €276 million earned by TNT Express in 2003 were higher by 12.2% than profits for 2002 (€246 million). The TNT Express website is: www.tnt.com
- TNT Express is a division of TPG N.V., the global provider of express, mail and logistics services which also operates TNT Logistics and Royal TPG Post. With headquarters in The Netherlands TPG employs over 163,000 people in 64 countries and serves over 200 countries. The company reported sales of €11.9 billion in 2003, an increase of 0.7% over the previous year. TPG N.V. is listed on the Amsterdam, New York, London and Frankfurt stock exchanges. The TPG website is: www.tpg.com