Global logistics giant DSV on Saturday launched a weekly dedicated air charter service from Seoul, South Korea, to Chicago-Rockford International Airport, underscoring the airport’s growing role as a cargo relief valve for crowded O’Hare airport, about an hour’s drive to the east.

DSV has contracted with all-cargo carrier Atlas Air to operate a Boeing 777-200 freighter on the route, Zack Oakley, the airport’s executive director, confirmed. FlightAware tracking data shows the flight stopped in Shanghai, China, before heading to Chicago-Rockford airport (RFD), with a fuel stop in Anchorage, Alaska. The aircraft continued on Sunday to Luxembourg.

DSV, the third-largest logistics service provider in the world based on revenue, first began using RFD in November, when it started weekly charter flights from Shanghai. In June, an inbound service from Luxembourg began. All of the flights are operated by Atlas Air and move through RFD on their way to other destinations in the DSV network.

“Incheon is one of Asia’s most important cargo hubs, and with this new service, DSV can provide reliable capacity and connectivity via the network we are building through Rockford,” said Mohamed Siraj, DSV’s vice president Air Direct / Global Gateways, in a joint news release last week. “The airport has consistently demonstrated the operational reliability and flexibility needed to support scheduled international freighter services, making it a natural choice as we continue developing our air cargo operations.”

DSV is also planning to add more service at Chicago-Rockford. The company said it expects to introduce a scheduled route connecting RFD to Chennai, India, later this year.

Many freight forwarders charter aircraft and deploy them on specific routes for customers because doing so gives them more control over capacity, scheduling and delivery speed than handing freight to multiple commercial airlines. For airports outside major passenger hubs, those dedicated flights can translate into steadier cargo activity and more direct use of airside facilities.

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

RFD ranks 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 Airports Council-International. The Federal Aviation Administration ranks RFD 12th in the U.S. based on total landed weight, which also includes aircraft weight and likely reflects the presence of more large cargo aircraft at the airport.

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

Since the Covid crisis, second-tier airports such as RFD have become more attractive to logistics companies that charter their own aircraft because of lower congestion, lower fees and operating costs, airside cargo terminals that give them direct control over freight, and less crowded roads. The result is that goods can move more quickly from the airport to their final destination.

RFD officials say airlines can save up to 25 minutes in taxiing time compared with O’Hare airport, which can reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions.

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

Write to Eric Kulisch at [email protected].

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Large logistics firms launch dedicated flights to Chicago area