Liege Airport signs Qatar Airways, Alibaba Cloud, Orange Belgium partnerships

At a cargo event that took place this week at Liege Airport (LGG) in Belgium, the airport signed three agreements further bolstering its rapidly growing air cargo operations. The partnerships are between the airport and Qatar Airways Cargo, technology subsidiary Alibaba Cloud and telecommunications company Orange Belgium, respectively.

LGG’s agreement with Qatar Airways Cargo is an extension of an already-existing contract between the parties. Qatar Airways originally began operating into LGG in 2013 using 777Fs and has since kept connections at the airport an active part of its freighter network.

The other two partnerships are aimed at improving digitalization of cargo operations at LGG, according to a statement from the airport. The technology subsidiary of Chinese e-tail and technology giant Alibaba, Alibaba Cloud, has AI platforms and other technologies the airport plans to implement within its operations and handling procedures. Orange Belgium, meanwhile, will study LGG’s cargo operations alongside the airport and work to develop Internet of Things (IoT) and other smart services at the airport.

“The logistics sector presents many opportunities to make the most of our technological expertise concerning connected objects or track & trace solutions,” said Orange Belgium CEO Michaël Trabbia of the partnership.

The increase in digitalization is likely to be a boon to the airport, which is experiencing rapid year-over-year growth in cargo volumes handled thanks to its freighter-friendly policies and other cargo-focused operations. At 21.58% year-over-year volume growth for 2018, LGG ranked as the No. 1 fastest-growing airport within the world’s Top 40 cargo airports for 2018.

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