Ground handler SATS has announced the opening of a new air cargo facility at Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) that is designed to speed up the handling of shipments, increase SATS’ airfreight capacity and ease congestion.
Operated by SATS Cargo, the BUP Handling Centre has been opened by SATS division, SATS Singapore Hub (SG Hub), and is expected to reduce the minimum processing time for air cargo shipments by 20% – from two and a half hours down to two hours.
The BUP Handling Centre is named after BUPs, or Bulk Unitisation Programme shipments, which are cargo packages assembled by freight forwarders or shippers and delivered to SATS to be loaded onto flights.
It covers an area about half the size of a football field at SATS Cargo’s Airfreight Terminal and resembles the clearance lanes for cargo trucks at Singapore’s Tuas and Woodlands checkpoints.
The facility also frees up capacity at existing airfreight terminals and eases congestion on roads, said SATS.
Day to day, it has been set up to enable the resolution of acceptance issues, including documentation, weighing, and verifying that the size of BUPs is suitable for aircraft cargo holds.
Accepted cargo can be towed directly to the airside for uplift, streamlining cargo flow and boosting handling efficiency.
“The new facility will allow faster, safer, and more efficient processing and handling of air cargo shipments, by day and by night and in all-weather conditions,” said Kuah Boon Kiam, senior vice president, cargo services at SG Hub.
He added: “This facility also allows SG Hub to test and refine processes as we nurture future-ready capabilities in airside and cargo handling ahead of the opening of Changi Airport Terminal 5 and the Changi East Industrial Zone.”
SATS established SG Hub on 1 October 2024 as a dedicated business division to support airport operations at Singapore’s Air Hub, which groups Changi Airport, Seletar Airport and the aviation industries at these gateways.
SG Hub provides ground handling services such as passenger handling, baggage services, aircraft handling, security services and cargo handling services.
In May, SATS said it would invest more than S$100m to develop its cargo infrastructure at SIN as part of a wider project to upgrade its ground operations at the airport.