History
In an attempt to challenge the pre-eminence of Lufthansa Cargo on the German air freight market, Air Cargo Germany was founded in 2008 by former LTU executives Michael Bock and Thomas Homering. The company with its headquarteres at Frankfurt–Hahn Airport had its airline licence issued on 14 July 2009.
From the beginning, ACG had strong ties to Russian entrepreneurs, as much of the initial funding was provided by Rashid Mursekaev, a co-founder of VIM Airlines, and the business administration comprised a number of former Aeroflot-Cargo managers. Later, a co-operation with Volga-Dnepr Airlines and its subsidiary AirBridgeCargo Airlines was set up, which saw Volga-Dnepr acquiring a 49 percent stake in Air Cargo Germany in April 2012, the maximum allowed under EU rules for foreign ownership. To offer a joint network of some kind, ACG moved a number of its flights to Frankfurt Airport, which was already served by AirBridgeCargo.
According to EU regulations, airlines are required to provide evidence that they have sufficient financial resources for the next 12-month period. As Air Cargo Germany failed to do so at an Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (the German civil aviation authority) audit, it had its operating permit withdrawn and was forced to suspended all flight operations on 18 April 2013, and on 3 May, insolvency was declared. In 2009, Air Cargo Germany had been granted loans by the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the operating company of Frankfurt-Hahn Airport (of which 82.5 percent are owned by Rhineland-Palatinate, too), accumulating to a total of EUR 10 million. Since the insolvency of ACG, this taxpayers' money is considered a default.
The airline claims to have plans for a relaunch. As the legal maximum of its shares (49 percent) are already owned by Russian (non-EU) companies, the only possibility to acquire the needed equity funding would be a European Union entity. According to analysts, the suspension of its operations has led to Air Cargo Germany losing most of its freight transport contracts, making it unlikely to regain the necessary market trust.
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