Lufthansa Cargo more than triples Q3 profit to €162mn

Lufthansa Cargo more than tripled its operating profit in the third quarter of 2026. Adjusted EBIT rose to €162 million from €49 million a year earlier. Air freight demand stayed high against the backdrop of the crisis in the Middle East, and yields were 22 percent above the prior year. Revenue grew 26 percent to €1.04 billion, and the adjusted EBIT margin widened 9.6 percentage points to 15.6 percent, compared with 6.0 percent in Q3 2025.

Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne kilometres (ACTKs), rose 5 percent to 4.01 billion. The growth came mainly from ITA Airways belly capacity. Traffic grew faster: the volume of cargo shipped rose 7 percent, and cargo tonne kilometres (CTKs) increased 11 percent to 2.55 billion. As a result, the cargo load factor improved 3.0 percentage points to 63.5 percent.

Gregor Schleussner, Lufthansa Cargo’s CFO and CHRO, said: “Strong results are never a given. They come from making the right decisions, staying close to our customers and acting decisively as one team. That is exactly what our colleagues have demonstrated.”

The results came in a busy quarter for the airline’s commercial and infrastructure plans. Lufthansa Cargo signed an agreement to acquire LUG aircargo handling GmbH, a move it says will strengthen its infrastructure for future growth. And recently it completed the acquisition of LUG aircargo handling following the receipt of all necessary antitrust approvals, making the cargo handling company a wholly owned subsidiary. On the product side, it added a new “Emergency” Add-on Service to its modular portfolio. The service gives critical shipments absolute priority.

This story was originally published by STAT Times. Read the full story at STAT Times →