LATAM launches flight for Panalpina to its Huntsville air cargo gateway

LATAM Cargo launched a new Colombia-United States freighter operation to the Huntsville International Airport (HSV), for customer Panalpina, supported by the forwarder’s air cargo gateway at HSV.

The new weekly route, launched on Dec. 2, operates between Bogota and Huntsville, using a 50-tonne-capacity 767-300F, and takes approximately four and a half hours to fly each way. LATAM formerly transited cargo from South America through Miami, but then decided to launch the service to Huntsville in response to Panalpina’s request to cut down cargo travel time from South America to North America, as it continues to expand its perishable products network.

By establishing HSV as a transfer point for the LATAM route, Panalpina is also able to reduce turnaround time to about three hours, including clearing customs. In partnership with Panalpina, Huntsville has built up its airport as an alternative entry point for South American perishables to the U.S. The airport’s Jetplex Industrial Park is a registered foreign trade zone, and maintains multi-modal transport connections to the surrounding region.

HSV is one of Panalpina’s two air cargo gateways; the other is Luxembourg Findel Airport (LUX). The forwarder leases about 150,000 square feet of facility space, including its air gateway, global logistics center and cold storage warehouse. The company has also recently opened a new perishable center at the airport, which it is using to support the new flight.

Panalpina said that it will use LATAM passenger flights from other countries in South America to feed the freighter flight out of Bogota, thus expanding its service beyond flowers from Columbia to all other perishable markets in the region.

Those interested in learning more about air cargo gateways are invited to join us Cargo Facts EMEA, to be held 4-6 February at The Westin Grand Frankfurt. Register before 14 December to take advantage of early bird rates. To register or for more information, visit www.cargofactsemea.com.