American Airlines Cargo has moved to a new location at Heathrow Airport to expand its airfreight handling capabilities and has also enhanced its digital capabilities at the airport.
The move, adjacent to its two former buildings, combines the carrier’s import and export operations. The new facility provides more space and enables greater flexibility for the carrier and its cargo handler, Worldwide Flight Services (WFS).
The new building offers a total of 120,000 sq ft, a 15,000 sq ft increase compared to the original combined facilities. The move also nearly doubles the capacity for storage of PMC pallets.
There are also more landside and airside doors, X-ray machines and build stations at the new building – all of which enable faster acceptance and delivery as well as build-up and break-down efforts, said American.
In addition to the facility move, American has also updated how it transmits operational updates digitally with WFS. The combined effort enables a new digital connection between the WFS system, CargoSpot, and American’s iCargo platform.
“The facility expansion is a significant milestone for us in how we operate in LHR,” said Sam Mendenhall, vice president of operations for American Airlines Cargo. “We are confident that the move to a larger, more uniform cargo facility, coupled with the technology enhancements with WFS, will unlock operational efficiencies and ultimately provide a better experience for our customers who ship in and out of LHR.”
American currently operates 20 widebody flights a day out of LHR to key hubs in the US, with as many as 26 per day during the summer peak season.
