Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), a SATS company, has officially opened its new 25,400m² cargo terminal at Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport (LYS), creating a new generation of logistics infrastructure for airlines, freight forwarders, and the high-value economic sectors in the region.
The Aéroport de Lyon DC1 facility located at the heart of the airport’s Cargoport zone is the result of a successful collaboration between Aéroports de Lyon, WFS, Prologis, the global leader in logistics real estate, and the em2c Group, the developer and contractor with design, build, and technology oversight of the project. Aéroport de Lyon DC1 centralises WFS’ Lyon operations at a single, modern and optimised site directly connected to the airport’s runways, tailored to the requirements of air freight and capable of improving the performance, speed, and reliability of supply chains.
The facility supports all 380 WFS customers in the Lyon area and becomes WFS’ second-largest operation in France after Paris Charles de Gaulle. It also contributes to the local economy by sustaining more than 300 direct and indirect jobs.
With 4,400m² of cold rooms for specialised and sensitive cargo, capacity suited to the storage of perishable products, and 36 door docks handling cargo imports and exports, including 5 dedicated to air freight pallet transfers, the building is designed to optimise flows between landside access points, handling areas, and airside operations.
Aéroport de Lyon DC1 will meet the specific needs of demanding sectors such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology and the high concentration of companies in these sectors in the Lyon region.
With high environmental standards incorporated from the design stage, the new hub is targeting a ‘Very Good’ BREEAM rating to reflect its sustainability credentials. The building is solar-ready, with a roof designed to accommodate a future photovoltaic installation.
Laurent Bernard, Vice-President of WFS France, said: “Aéroport de Lyon DC1 represents a new milestone for WFS in Lyon, where we first commenced operations in 1971. Its design, temperature-controlled areas, and organisation of cargo flows enable us to strengthen our capacity and operational efficiency to handle sensitive and high-value goods for our airline and freight forwarder customers. Given Lyon’s strategically important location, industrial base, and high-value economic sectors, this new generation of logistics infrastructure reinforces Lyon’s position in national and European logistics flows and will strengthen the economic attractiveness of the region.”
Vincent Sadé, Vice President, Head of Capital Deployment France, Prologis, commented: “Aéroport de Lyon DC1 illustrates how our business is evolving: beyond the building itself, we design infrastructure that is directly integrated into our customers’ operations. Our role was to align the specific constraints of the airport environment, real estate requirements and WFS’s operational needs to create a tailored, high-performing solution built to last “
Yvan Patet, President of the em2c Group, said: “The Aéroport de Lyon DC1 project stems from a shared vision among regional and international partners driven by a desire to strengthen the region by incorporating environmental performance from the construction phase onwards. This facility provides a solution tailored to the specific requirements of air freight.”
Cedric Fechter, Chairman of the Management Board, Aéroports de Lyon, added: “The Aéroport de Lyon DC1 facility marks the continued expansion of Cargoport, the freight zone at Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport and France’s second largest air cargo hub. The result of close collaboration between Prologis, the em2c Group, WFS and Aeroports de Lyon, this project epitomises regional supply chain and significantly strengthens the competitiveness of the region.”
Aéroport de Lyon DC1 is the latest new-build cargo terminal in the combined SATS and WFS global network, which operates over 215 stations in 27 countries. These cover trade routes responsible for more than 50% of global air cargo volume.
