Welcome To The Official
   Lufthansa Cargo Building 261
Tribute Site

This site is dedicated to the entire staff of employees (both past and present),
who were assigned duties at the Lufthansa Cargo facility, located in
building #261 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

Anyone wishing to contribute additional photos
or information can reach us by clicking below:
 

 Brief Early History Of Building 261 
Opened in 1965 by Mr. Peter Hees, the very first Lufthansa Cargo facility in New York was actually located in building 80.  The cargo warehouse was small, but served it's purpose of allowing Lufthansa Airlines to open it's first NYC gateway for freight from Europe into the USA.

A booming business back in the 60's, Lufthansa's freighter operations steadily grew at a phenomenal pace.  With the implementation of the world's first 747F service ready to commence, it was obvious Lufthansa Cargo needed to gear itself up for bigger things to come.  Eventually, building 86 became too small to handle the enormous volume of cargo, and was considered inadequate to continue serving as Lufthansa's freight warehouse.  With the green light flashing from headquarters in Frankfurt Germany, Mr. Peter Hees submitted the building plans for a new state of the art cargo facility to be constructed at JFK, leading to the birth of Lufthansa Cargo Building 261.

Building 261 Construction Photo Date 28JUN71

Building 261 Construction Photo Date 28JUN71

  Inside view of the main deck of Lufthansa's first B747F 

The new facility's plans called for 4000 square feet of floor storage space, along with a computer operated Elevated Transport Vehicle (ETV), capable of storing over 200 aircraft containers and cargo pallets.  Additionally, there was to be a second computer automated storage system consisting of of over 4000 storage bins, offering additional storage space for small packages and shipments.  The Stacker system was designed to allow bins to travel around the entire cargo facility.  But, the truly unique part of this new facility was going to be the aircraft's internal nose-dock feature, which was the first ever constructed at JFK, as well as for Lufthansa Cargo worldwide.

In late 1970, ground construction commenced for Lufthansa's new JFK cargo plant.  The location of building 261 was on South Cargo Road, just west of Flying Tigers Cargo and across from the Allegany Cargo facility.  In May 1972 we moved in and  for the next 32 years, Lufthansa Cargo's large Marquee could easily be seen by motorists from either direction of the Belt Parkway.  In later years, the completion of the JFK Expressway offered airport travelers and personnel a closer view of the building.  On a lucky day, everyone enjoyed a quick peek of the Nose-Dock in action.

Early 1970's aerial view of Lufthansa Cargo's warehouse (building 261)
at John F. Kennedy International Airport

Lufthansa Cargo AG - A Cutting Edge Company
For many years, Lufthansa's Cargo warehouse was considered the airport's number one, state of the art air freight facility in New York.  The internal nose dock feature alone ensured that cargo was completely safe from damage caused by the harsh weather elements, as well as offering a high degree of security from pilferage to cargo while kept inside the computerized storage facility.  Retrieval of cargo for delivery was accurate and efficient, offering brokers and consignees unprecedented service and satisfaction, which was Lufthansa's unconditional promise to it's customers, as well as being the company's policy for success.

Lufthansa Cargo - Looking Into The Future
In 1985, the cargo facility underwent several comprehensive improvements, starting with the extension of the western section of the ETV and floor storage area.  The first upgrade consisted of replacing the original and obsolete Otis ETV, with a brand new one manufactured in Europe by Lodige Inc., exclusively for Lufthansa's JFK facility.  Additional upgrades included a new line flight and freighter cargo staging area, consisting of 2 new extra roller bed work stations, along with a new "Traveling Vehicle" (TV).  The TV was to be used for transporting pallets and containers from trucks at doors 27 & 28, directly through the facility to the ETV storage system without a disruption to normal warehouse operations.  To complete the upgrade project, 2 new spacious ramp side cooler units were installed, each capable of holding 4 side door pallets, and an additional excess station, allowing side door pallets to efficiently move in and out of the facility from rampside (XS3).  All these strategic upgrades and improvements helped prepare Lufthansa Cargo's facility meet the growing challenges of moving it's highest freight volumes, well into the 21st century.           

The Saturday afternoon 'Time Definite' Freighter arrives at the Lufthansa Cargo facility at JFK

Lufthansa's 'Time Definite' B-747 200C Freighter

Approaching the Nose Dock at JFK

"Big Bird" being tugged into the Nose-Dock position

A grand ramp view of the Lufthansa Cargo "YZ" freighter nose-docked at building 261


North view of Lufthansa Cargo's warehouse facility (building 261)

Far shot of the warehouse Import Dock taken from the 2nd floor maintenance mezzanine.
(Photo courtesy of David Morgan JFKGZ)

Notice (lower left) the storage bin between the yellow lines starting it's journey around the entire
cargo facility, eventually re-entering the stacker inlet!  This system remained in service
until June 2003, when Lufthansa permanently closed it's cargo doors at building 261. 

Disclaimer:
This site is not affiliated in any way with Lufthansa Cargo AG, Lufthansa LSG Service or any agency or provider connected with Lufthansa German Airlines Inc.
 It's sole purpose is for leisure viewing and entertainment. Crane logo copyright Lufthansa German Airlines - All rights reserved.