Amazon opens new Chicago Rockford Airport facility

Monday marked the ceremonial opening of a new 200,000-square-foot Amazon facility at Chicago Rockford Airport (RFD), the airport’s director of business development and cargo, Ken Ryan, told Air Cargo World.

News of the expansion at the Chicago airport came late last year when RFD confirmed Amazon would more than double its footprint there. Amazon Air had already operated at RFD for about a year at the time, but the e-commerce giant’s aviation footprint is likely to grow with the new facility, with subsequent increases in RFD flight frequencies expected.

Amazon has rapidly expanded its presence at its gateway and hub airports during 2019. In September, daily Amazon Air flights began operating at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport (ATL) and St. Louis Airport (STL). Its regional hub at Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW) is also set to open this month. Meanwhile, in the southeastern U.S., a $100 million investment in Lakeland Linder Airport (LAL) by the e-tail giant was approved in May.