DSV loves RFD: Logistics provider and airport hook up over air cargo

And DSV isn’t finished adding air freight service to Chicago-Rockford. The company plans to introduce a scheduled service connecting RFD to Chennai, India, later this year.

Many freight forwarders charter aircraft and deploy them on specific routes for customers because of the greater control it gives them over capacity, scheduling, and delivery speed versus handing freight to various commercial airlines.

DSV uses a multi-client terminal operated by Menzies Aviation to transfer loads between the freighter aircraft and trucks that support its local warehouses.

RFD is No. 19 in North America for cargo. In 2025, the airport handled 498,432 metric tons of cargo, up 10.8% from the previous year, according to figures from Airports Council-International. The Federal Aviation Administration ranks RFD as 12 in the U.S. based on total landed weight, which also includes the weight of the aircraft and likely reflects the fact that more large cargo aircraft serve the airport.

UPS, Amazon Air and Maersk Air Cargo are the dominant carriers at RFD and have their own parcel and cargo handling terminals. Maersk provided trans-Pacific service on its own fleet of Boeing 767-300 freighters until early this year, when it terminated its flying contract with Amerijet. But it still brings in freighters, operated by Magma Aviation, from Liege, Belgium, each week.

Since the Covid crisis, second-tier airports like RFD have become more attractive to logistics companies chartering their own aircraft due to less crowding, lower fees and operating costs, airside cargo terminals that give them direct control over their freight compared to using a third party for disassembling and preparing loads for pick up, and less congested roads. The upshot is goods can be expedited from the airport to their final destination, making customers happier.

RFD officials tout that airlines can save up to 25 minutes in taxiing time compared to O’Hare airport, saving fuel and reducing carbon emissions.

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

Write to Eric Kulisch at [email protected].

Large logistics firms launch dedicated flights to Chicago area