A grand opening event of a new state-of-the-art facility was held at the North Cargo Area of Chicago O’Hare Airport. The ceremony was attended by airlines, the local forwarding community, O’Hare Airport and city officials, along with Swissport USA’s management team and local employees. With a special focus on safety and efficiency, the 138,000-square foot facility was designed by a team of Swissport Cargo experts to address customer needs and aimed to continue developing Swissport into the best cargo and ground handler in the industry.

 

The automated material handling system makes it first of its kind in the region and can accommodate over 120 10-ft units (unit load devices) at a time using pallet platforms and electric ULD movers. All ULDs can be handled to the highest industry standards without touching the floor. The warehouse operates with two cold storages: 2-8 degrees Celsius and 18-25 degrees Celsius. Both have been designed to meet the IATA CEIV requirements. The facility also has 35 truck docks able to handle the peak seasons and features adjacent aircraft parking with in-ground fuelling and power units to reduce overall handling time of the aircraft on the ground. In addition, the material handling system is integrated with the back ramp where ULD’s are directly stored into the system or delivered to the customer. These specifications allow Swissport to handle fully-built units from the aircraft to the truck in a considerably short time.

 

“This new investment highlights our commitment towards our customers’ needs. We raised the bar to become the new operation standard of Swissport Cargo in the US. This is the first of many steps as we are committed to further invest in our people, facilities and equipment.” said Dany Nasr, CEO Swissport USA.