UPS to operate seasonal freighter flights into SBD International Airport

The San Bernardino International Airport (SBD) announced that UPS will begin operating seasonal flights into the airport during the busiest shopping season of the year.

UPS started service at the airport in 2016, operating four weekly flights through SBD during the holiday season. This year, UPS Airlines will operate up to eighteen weekly flights during the holidays.

The flight segments will include SBD-Louisville, Kentucky, and SBD-Rockford, Illinois, using 757 and 767 freighter aircraft.

“This is our busiest time of year, and with the huge spike in holiday shipments, we need additional capacity to deliver for our customers,” said Tom Cuce, UPS’ South California District president. Flights from SBD will connect directly with Worldport, UPS’s main air hub in Louisville, and a regional air hub in Rockford, connecting the Inland Empire to UPS’s global network, he added.

UPS said it expects to deliver about 750 million packages globally between “Black Friday” (the first shopping day after Thanksgiving in the U.S.) and New Year’s Eve – a 5 percent increase over 2016.

SBD has spent the last few years investing in its air cargo infrastructure, angling for a slice of the region’s growing airfreight business.