Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has increased its facility footprint at London’s Heathrow Airport after a 30 percent growth in volumes in the past year.

WFS has signed a five-year lease on Building 578 in the airport’s cargo area, boosting its warehouse and office space by a further 27,000 sqft. Due to commence operations in October, the building features eight landside doors for cargo deliveries and collections, and a 20-foot truck dock. Plans are underway for caster deck storage for loaded pallets and containers, as well as a 7,000-sqft area for ambient shipments and dedicated storage for temperature-controlled shipments requiring a 2-8°C environment.

Once opened, WFS will increase its total cargo handling space at the airport to nearly 350,000 sqft. WFS said this latest expansion is designed to support existing airline customers as well as new contracts gained in the past 12 months, including Sri Lankan Airlines, Gulf Air and All Nippon Airways.

“After strong growth in our tonnage throughput in 2021, and with cargo volumes expected to increase by a further 25% this year, it’s important that we are proactive in ensuring we have the capacity and infrastructure our current airline customers need to support their products and services.

Paul Carmody, WFS’ Managing Director – UK Cargo said a key focus for Building 578 is to expand the company’s perishables handling capabilities. “This investment also gives us more space to welcome new carriers, which we expect to do by the end of the year,” noted Carmody.

WFS currently provides cargo handling services for 16 international airlines at Heathrow, handling over 425,000 tonnes of freight, airmail and express shipments through seven warehouse facilities.