Worldwide Flight Services has opened a fourth cargo terminal at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, increasing its capacity by over 10% 310 million kilos a year.
WFS, now a member of the SATS group, has signed a 15-year lease on the new facility in the Northeast Cargo Area, which commenced operations last month. It provides an additional 122,000sq ft of warehouse space, 10,000sq ft of offices and 200,000sq ft of ramp space at the third busiest airport in North America.
WFS has operated for nearly 40 years at Chicago O-Hare and supplies cargo, ramp, mail, and passenger services for customers including China Airlines, Eva Air, Kalitta Air, Flexport, Atlas Air, UPS, USPS and Air France KLM Martinair. Its three existing warehouses have a combined footprint of 595,000sq ft.
The latest WFS facility is equipped with electric forklift vehicles, solar panels and electric vehicle chargers. It is also fitted with a three-tier AKE storage racking system to optimise handling capacity and an automated bypass system.
Frankfurt-based NEO Air Charter has appointed Sascha Nauck as airfreight business development manager to head up its Neutral Airfreight Solutions division. Nauck’s 24-year career has been spent in air logistics, including spells at DB Schenker and GSSAs Kales Group and Euro Cargo Aviation.
NEO’s new Neutral Airfreight Solutions division provides bespoke capacity for urgent shipments that do not warrant a whole plane charter, but are too large for NEO’s On Board Courier services, offering its solutions only to bona fide freight agents and intermediaries. It uses block space agreements on selected routes, frequently at below-normal rates which are not generally accessible.
It’s been a long time in the making – work started in 2018, before the Covid pandemic hit – but IAG Cargo’s New Premia building at London Heathrow airport is now officially open for business.
Part of a £100 million investment in cargo facilities in London for, it adds not only more capacity for premium loose shipments at the IAG group of airlines –British Airways, Iberia, bmi, Aer Lingus, Vueling and Level – but more importantly ushers in a whole way of working for the group’s cargo arm.
According to IAG Cargo, the new building will greatly enhance the carrier’s capacity and ability to service customers, particularly in the pharma segment. As well as a new physical facility, New Premia also offers greatly enhanced processes with a new design that will optimise cargo flows through the premises, together with more automated handling systems that have been fully integrated with the warehouse management system.
Four large transfer vehicles service 20 new workstations, passing through rapid-rise doors allowing cargo to be moved autonomously through the facility and into storage in advance of collection and delivery to the aircraft for exports and in reverse for imports. The system is fully integrated with IAG Cargo’s existing Warehouse Management System –the first time that this integration has been delivered.
Whereas the old Premia building generally built up cargo one flight at a time, the new facility can work much more proactively, building up freight in advance where possible and helping to smooth out the often very prominent spikes in air cargo activity.
Outside, the road traffic system has been completely redesigned with a new one-way system. Large electronic screens call forward trucks to the allocated door and, in place of the old system that allocated randomly, the new operation allocates doors that are appropriate to the type of cargo or flight.
At the time of writing in late May, IAG had started to transfer flights to the new building. New Premia in fact handled its first cargo in 2022, but without the benefit of the new automated systems which are now being brought on stream. Transition to the new building is expected to be completed by the third quarter of the year.
New Premia is temperature controlled throughout with blowers at the doors to maintain the correct internal temperature. The building itself can be maintained at 15-20°C but it also incorporates a full Constant Climate temperature controlled area that offers precisely controlled temperatures.
UPS has appointed John Bolla as its president of its Healthcare arm. He joined UPS in April 2022, having previously worked for Adare Pharma Solutions and GSK, where he eventually became vice president of North American supply chain and then senior vice president of third-party sales and contract manufacturing.
Bolla’s appointment follows the retirement of Wes Wheeler earlier this year, who served in the role for over three years. Wheeler was previously chief executive of healthcare logistics firm Marken, before its acquisition by UPS in 2016, after which he launched the healthcare vertical.
Broker Air Partner has signed a deal with Air Logistics Group’s Worldwide GSA, to expand its cargo services in Asia-Pacific. Worldwide GSA will act as Air Partner’s representative in the region while Air Partner will be the charter desk for Worldwide GSA group.
Air Partner says it will allow it to extend its cargo footprint in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and Thailand.
Airfreight quality standards organization Cargo iQ has signed a deal with the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) and the Airport Services Association (ASA) for the latter two’s director generals to attend its board meetings as observers and to work together to improve practices across the supply chain.
FIATA represents 40,000 forwarders and logistics firms around the world, while the ASA has 50 global members in the aviation services industry.
FIATA director general, Stéphane Graber (pictured below), said: “FIATA is thrilled to be participating in the board meetings of Cargo iQ, and to join with the group and ASA to drive global standards. This collaboration is a key initiative in the optimization of air cargo processes for all logistics supply chain stakeholders involving air freight.”
ASA director general, Fabio Gamba (main picture), added: “This initiative from Cargo iQ to offer FIATA and ASA an observer seat at their board is spot on. The cargo value chain is a very complex one, and only a truly holistic approach, involving all the major stakeholders, will work.”
Cold chain solution specialist Envirotainer has celebrated a decade of operations in Mexico. Over the past 10 years, it has worked closely with its partner, ULD Services MEX, to develop temperature-controlled air freight in the country and spearheaded the safe transportation of pharmaceuticals.
Prior to Envirotainer’s presence in the market, Mexico’s pharmaceutical cold chain had been reliant on passive systems – cardboard boxes, insulation and coolants, which can be wasteful and risk temperature deviation.
Envirotainer’s active unit load devices, battery-powered and insulated units can contain pallets of pharmaceuticals in flight. The number of shipments to and from Mexico has increased, reflecting the country’s flourishing pharmaceutical industry.
Envirotainer is now looking ahead to the next 10 years, with a focus on training customers and partners on the latest offerings in the Mexican market, including the Releye ULD family and CryoSure solutions.
Baku, Azerbaijan-based Silk Way West Airlines has gained CEIV Lithium Battery certification from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). It recognizes that the carrier has implemented robust processes and best practices to mitigate relevant risks and comply with stringent requirements.
The CEIV Lithium Batteries Certification is a global standard developed by IATA to ensure the safe and secure handling of lithium batteries throughout the supply chain.
Air Charter Service has appointed Alfie Arrowsmith as regional vice president of cargo for North America. He joined ACS’s South African operation in 2010, before moving to another established charter broker in the country moving, in 2015 to Miami. He has now joined Air Charter Service for the second time and will be working out of the New York office. Richard Thompson, President of ACS Americas, commented: “It’s great to have Alfie back here at ACS. He has vast experience across several continents having worked and lived in Europe, Africa and North America. During his time in these locations, he has gained an unparalleled knowledge of worldwide cargo operations and he will bring vital expertise to our North American team across our nine offices in the region.”
Airfreight trucker Sterling Transportation has promoted Richard Garcia to chief operating officer.
With over three decades of experience in the industry, his journey at Sterling Transportation began in 2000 as a station manager at the Miami terminal. He then served as regional vice president before ultimately being appointed as the president of Sterling Transportation, where he made significant contributions to the growth and success of the company.
In his new role he will be critical in driving the direction and growth of the company as a whole.
Chief executive Keith Davis said: “Richard is an incredibly knowledgeable, loyal, and hard-working professional. We are thrilled to have him step into this critical role as we continue to expand our operations and strengthen our position in the market. I am confident that Richard’s expertise and experience will be instrumental in leading Sterling Transportation to new heights.”
