A specialized cargo handling platform / Article / LSM.lv starts operating at Riga Airport

A new specialized cargo handling platform was launched at the Riga International Airport on Friday, October 16, awaiting Atlas Air’s Boeing 747-47U (F) aircraft in a solemn atmosphere, the airport informed.

The new platform covers an area of ​​95,000 square meters in the northern part of the aerodrome and is directly connected to the territory where the “cargo city” of the airport “Riga” will be developed – the air cargo service and logistics center.

The logistics company’s DHL regional parcel handling complex will start operating here next year, as well as in cooperation with investors it is planned to develop a multifunctional cargo logistics center with a total warehouse area of ​​up to 9,000 square meters.

The total capacity of the airport “cargo city” will exceed 60,000 tons per year, allowing the airport “Riga” to double the cargo turnover in the coming years.

“The development of the cargo segment is especially important for the airport at a time when passenger traffic is significantly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. [..] In order to promote the entry of new cargo carriers and increase the turnover of air cargo, the main task of the airport is to create a suitable infrastructure and a favorable cooperation platform, ”said Laila Odiņa, the Chairman of the Board of Riga Airport.

Within the framework of the project, a platform and a connecting shunting road with a total volume of 36,770 square meters, as well as new service roads with a total surface area of ​​asphalt concrete of 14,970 square meters have been built. Ramp multifunctional aircraft parking allows flexible planning of aircraft deployment and accommodating even the largest Class F and E aircraft, while the underground refueling hydrant system significantly increases aircraft refueling and thus service speeds and reduces the risk of environmental pollution. An energy-efficient lighting control system is installed in the territory.

VIDEO: Summary of platform construction progress

Construction work on the new platform began in March 2019, and the total investment in the project is 15 million euros.

The volume of air cargo transportation in Latvia consists of four areas of activity – export and import of high value-added goods, transportation of mail and e-commerce goods, transit air cargo handling and transit of non-military cargo in the Northern Security Corridor established for the needs of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The involvement of JSC “Latvijas pasts” in the global e-commerce parcel transportation segment also contributes, in cooperation with the Chinese e-commerce giant “Alibaba” and the Russian Post is creating a successful logistics solution, as a result of which occasional cargo charter flights have been operated to Riga since 2017. from China.

Cargo transportation at Riga Airport is provided by seven airlines – cargo carriers “Atlas Air”, “Atran”, “Eleron” and “RAF Avia” and courier companies “Fedex”, UPS and DHL.

Last year, 27.2 thousand tons of cargo were handled at Riga Airport, but in the first nine months of this year – 16 thousand tons of cargo. The cargo turnover of Riga Airport accounts for more than half of the total cargo turnover of the Baltic States.

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