European Air Transport Leipzig

When dusk falls at Leipzig/Halle, the airport only really fills up: one yellow freighter after another taxis to the DHL hub. Many of them belong to European Air Transport Leipzig – an airline whose name you almost never read on the aircraft. That is exactly what makes EAT exciting for spotters: if you want to assign them cleanly, you need more than a glance at the tail. This page shows you how to recognize the DHL cargo airline, which types it flies and when your chances are best.

European Air Transport Leipzig at a glance

European Air Transport Leipzig – EAT Leipzig for short – is the cargo airline of DHL. The company is based in Schkeuditz on the grounds of Leipzig/Halle Airport and is wholly owned by Deutsche Post, the group behind the DHL brand. Its task is clearly defined: it flies express shipments through DHL’s European network and, from Leipzig, also serves destinations in the Middle East and Africa.

EAT does not carry passengers. There are no tickets, no cabin and no brand presence for travelers. What you see in the sky is exclusively DHL – and that is why many spotters do not perceive the airline as a company of its own at all.

Besides flight operations, EAT is a large maintenance operation. The company began as a maintenance organization and runs a hangar in Leipzig in which, according to reference works, even two A380s fit at the same time. The airline’s own freighters are serviced there.

From Brussels to Leipzig: a short history

EAT’s history is closely tied to the move of the DHL hub. For a long time Brussels was DHL’s central transshipment point in Europe, and the company European Air Transport N.V. flew there for the group. In the mid-2000s DHL decided on a new location in Saxony.

• November 2005: European Air Transport Leipzig GmbH is founded in Leipzig – initially as a pure maintenance operation for DHL freighters.
• From late 2007: DHL moves its European air cargo hub step by step from Brussels to Leipzig/Halle. Operations run from the end of March 2008, and the official opening follows in May 2008. According to reference works, DHL invested around 300 million euros for this.
• February 2010: The Brussels-based European Air Transport N.V. is incorporated into the Leipzig company by a merger agreement.
• March 2010: The last aircraft taken over from Brussels switch to German registrations, and the Federal Aviation Office (Luftfahrt-Bundesamt) grants the operating license. Since then EAT Leipzig has been a German airline.

For spotters this means: older photos of the same freighters can still show Belgian registrations, while current shots carry German ones.

Codes and callsign

• IATA code QY: appears in the flight number, for example in schedules and freight bookings.
• ICAO code BCS: appears in the air traffic control flight plan and on flight trackers.
• Callsign POSTMAN: how the crew identifies itself on the radio – the name fits Deutsche Post as owner.

In the DHL network especially, the ICAO code is the most important tool. The livery is the same at almost all companies, but the code is not. Why flight number and callsign often look different is explained in the article Callsign vs. flight number; you find the basics of the abbreviations under IATA and ICAO codes explained.

Same color, different airlines: the DHL family

DHL does not run its air cargo network with a single airline but with several companies and partners. In Leipzig you mainly meet these:

Airline	Base	ICAO code	Typical aircraft	Relationship to DHL
European Air Transport Leipzig	Schkeuditz (Leipzig/Halle)	BCS	A300-600F, A330F, 757F	Wholly owned subsidiary
AeroLogic	Schkeuditz (Leipzig/Halle)	BOX	Boeing 777F	Joint venture with Lufthansa Cargo
DHL Air UK	East Midlands, United Kingdom	own code	Boeing 757F and 767F	Subsidiary

All three can wear the same yellow livery. If you only photograph the tail, you can hardly tell them apart later. A quick hint is the type alone: a Boeing 777F in DHL yellow in Leipzig is almost always AeroLogic, an A300-600F almost always EAT.

The fleet: Airbus freighters with history

EAT’s fleet is not large, but for spotters it is a treasure – it consists in large part of types that hardly fly in passenger service anymore. Publicly available sources give exact numbers differently; the following overview summarizes the 2025/2026 situation without pretending to exact counts.

Type	Role in the fleet	Spotter note
Airbus A300-600F	Largest group, around two dozen aircraft	One of the world’s most important operators of the type; many examples are more than 25 years old
Airbus A330-200F	Small group	Partly taken over used, including from Etihad; recognizable by the fairing under the nose
Airbus A330-300P2F	Small group	Converted passenger jets; the very first A330-300P2F went to DHL at the end of 2017
Boeing 757-200 freighter	Small group	Narrow fuselage, tall landing gear legs – the only Boeing type at EAT

The A300-600F is the airline’s face. The type is the mature version of the first widebody twin from Airbus and today lives on almost only as a freighter. Besides EAT, FedEx Express and UPS Airlines are the big operators. Because the fleet is aging, every sighting is a piece of aviation history – and it is worth photographing the aircraft while they still fly.

The A330 freighters bring more range and payload to the network. The A330-200F was built as a freighter at the factory, the A330-300P2F is a conversion of used passenger aircraft. The Boeing 757 complements the fleet on shorter routes; it comes from Boeing and was converted for cargo service.

A300-600F or A330F? How to tell them apart

Both are Airbus widebody aircraft with two engines, and both wear the same yellow. In the dark or at a distance they quickly blur together. A few details help you.

The fairing under the nose of the A330-200F is the nicest identifying feature: it looks like a bulge in front of the nose gear and is easy to see even in photos from the apron. The converted A330-300P2F does not have it but is longer instead. General identification tips are in the guide Recognizing cargo aircraft and in the beginner article Recognizing aircraft types.

How to recognize EAT

The livery belongs not to the airline but to the group: yellow fuselage, large red DHL titles, red DHL logo on the tail. You will look in vain for a prominent EAT lettering. The assignment therefore runs through three features that you best combine:

1. The type. A300-600Fs and A330Fs in DHL yellow are very likely EAT in Leipzig.
2. The registration. EAT freighters are registered in Germany and carry a D-A registration. How to read registrations is explained in the article Understanding aircraft registrations.
3. The ICAO code. BCS on the tracker is the surest proof.

Spotting EAT at Leipzig/Halle

By far your best chances of EAT are at its home airport. According to reference works, Leipzig/Halle (IATA LEJ, ICAO EDDP) was Germany’s second-largest cargo airport after Frankfurt in 2021. The airport has two parallel runways, each 3,600 meters long, a good two kilometers apart – so it is all the more important to know the current runway direction in use.

The time of day is decisive. DHL’s hub works mainly at night: the freighters land late in the evening, the parcels are transshipped, and the aircraft depart again in the early morning hours. For passenger flights a night curfew applies at Leipzig/Halle, whereas express freight may also fly at night. The article on the night flight ban at German airports provides background.

A good starting point is the observation deck at Leipzig/Halle Airport. Check beforehand whether and when it is open – that matters especially for late evening.

Night spotting is a discipline of its own. Long exposures, high ISO values and a tripod become more important than the long telephoto lens. How to get freighters well in frame in the dark is shown in the guide Photographing aircraft at night. For daylight photos, planning with the sun position at the photo spot helps, and for the choice of runway the guide on the runway direction in use at the airport.

EAT compared with other cargo airlines

If you are interested in freight, there are a few names in Germany you cannot avoid. Lufthansa Cargo flies mainly from Frankfurt and belongs to the Lufthansa Group. AeroLogic is based in Leipzig like EAT but flies exclusively 777Fs. In Luxembourg, Cargolux is at home with the Boeing 747. And at other cargo hubs you meet the A300s of FedEx and UPS.

The special thing about EAT: the airline is not an independent cargo provider selling hold space to many customers but a tool of the DHL express network. That is why routes and times follow the parcel business and not classic scheduled timetables. You can find a broader overview of good cargo spots under The best spotting spots in Germany.

Common mix-ups

• Taking every yellow freighter for EAT – AeroLogic, DHL Air UK and partners also fly in DHL colors. The ICAO code decides.
• Logging “DHL” as the airline – DHL is the brand, the operating airline is EAT Leipzig, AeroLogic or another company.
• Confusing the A300-600F with the A330F – look for wingtip fences versus tall winglets and for the bulge under the nose of the A330-200F.
• Taking EAT for a Belgian airline – the roots are in Brussels, but since 2010 EAT has been a German airline with D registrations.
• Expecting EAT during the day – most of the traffic is in the evening and at night.
• Taking POSTMAN for a nickname – it is the official callsign on the radio.

Conclusion

European Air Transport Leipzig is the airline you constantly see in Leipzig and yet rarely call by name. Behind the DHL yellow stands a German cargo airline with Brussels roots, one of the largest still-active A300 fleets in the world and a working rhythm that follows the nightly parcel sort. If you look at type, registration and ICAO code together, you assign every yellow freighter correctly – and with the aging A300-600Fs you have a subject that will not be around forever.