Austin-Bergstrom Airport invests in new 90,000-square-foot cargo facility

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) is on its way to an upgrade that includes a new cargo facility, additional storage capacity and reconstructed roadways, and offers a way for the airport to meet increased air cargo demand. The Austin City Council last week approved a new contract for additional cargo infrastructure at AUS and civil engineering groundwork for the new 90,000-square-foot cargo facility at AUS can now begin on the facility, which may open by January 2023, Mookie Patel, chief of business and finance at AUS, told Air Cargo World . After moving forward with the groundwork, the hope is for the airport to receive federal funding through a grant to continue construction, said Patel. To keep up with increased cargo demand, the airport also plans to construct additional storage lots and roadways, including reconstructing its cargo road. [caption id="attachment_95464" align="alignright" width="343"] Photo courtesy of AUS[/caption] Two master plans had been drafted in 2009 and 2019 to address the capacity issue through expansion in the northwest side of the airport, but the recent commercial development in Austin accelerated AUS’ expansion plans, said Patel. “Obviously, we’re not a port city and we don’t transport flowers or are a mecca for Central South America cargo coming north or south,” said Patel. “But we do have a significant presence in the semiconductor chip manufacturing line of business, which is a low-weight, high-value product that would benefit from additional cargo. So as we look to pressurize that cargo activity into AUS at some point, with some support services from the airside, it’ll help prevent some of it being trucked down to Houston and trucked to Dallas.” DHL, UPS, FedEx, Amazon Air and Atlas currently operate at AUS. Despite the airport’s expansion plans, Patel said it is not necessarily looking to immediately expand the number of carriers serving AUS, but instead will “service the volume as it grows.” “I think the amount of high rises and capital investments that people are making into this Austin market is going to mirror some of the large tech-focused cities that have mushroomed over the last 10 to 15 years,” said Patel. “So we’re very excited and very focused on making sure we accommodate that growth going forward — we're ready.”

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