By next year a quarter of Deutsche Post's turnover is expected to come from logistics (freight-forwarding and the like), up from almost nothing last year.
But it wouldn't just be an airport - the ambitious plans for a Thames Hub would bring together rail, freight logistics, aviation, energy and its transmission, flood protection as well as regional development.
During one 20-minute stretch alone, three semi trucks from FedEx Freight and a smaller truck from Advanced Logistics trundled around to the back of a distribution center owned by Quanta.