IAG Cargo to lift premium capacity with £55M facility
When completed in 2018, the building, which includes a constant climate quality centre for pharmaceuticals, will be twice the size (8,500m2) of IAG Cargo’s existing Premia facility.
It has been designed around the demands of premium airfreight, including priority perishable food exports such as seafood, which grew 30% between 2014–15.
“It’s not just about high tech, by any means. We are seeing a range of commodities beginning to move through our express movement,” said IAG Cargo’s head of commercial Dave Shepherd.
‘Massive growth in seafood’
“The growing middle class in China is demanding more specialised commodities from around the world, and one of the developments we have seen this year is a massive growth in seafood, with razor clams and salmon in particular from Ireland and the UK.”
Last year, IAG Cargo shipped about 400t of Scottish razor clams to China, and Shepherd said this was one of the biggest areas of “prioritised” express business for the company.
It also handles imports of fresh fruit and vegetables into the UK, which increased by 4.3% between 2014–15.
Cross-border e-commerce is set to become a major priority for the company, growing at a compound rate of 27% a year from its current level of less than 2% of total air freight volumes.
‘Premium freight’
“IAG Cargo’s four airlines now carry more premium freight than at any point in their combined history,” said chief executive Drew Crawley.
“With the continued growth of high-speed e-commerce and cool chain logistics in particular, as well as the ongoing expansion of the IAG family and network, we need facilities that are ready for the next generation of premium freight.”
IAG Cargo is also renewing its aircraft fleet, which is opening up new trade routes and providing greater capacity on existing routes.
