Icelandair’s PIT route offers automation test case

Icelandair has launched four weekly flights into Pittsburgh International Airport, bringing about 5 tonnes of maritime exports like fish on each flight and making the airport a testing ground for new technology . While perishables are typically offloaded then trucked to another destination within 24 hours, the airport (PIT) views these flights as an opportunity to implement digital tracking tools, safer packaging and other innovative technology to aid in the transfer of the temperature- and time-sensitive products , Joe Rotterdam , director of air service at PIT, told Air Cargo Next . [caption id="attachment_57143410" align="alignleft" width="391"] (Courtesy/Allegheny County Airports Authority)[/caption] PIT’s xBridge innovation hub offers technology startups the opportunity to test their products in real time in an airport environment , he said. The xBridge program launched in 2021 to test automation, AI and robotics for airport s, Air Cargo Next previously reported. “It ’ s somewhat of a blank canvas right now,” Rotterdam said of technology opportunities for both startups and airlines . “And the way that we like to approach things with our partners in the community is using the airport as a testbed. And so , we will go out to the industry . W e ’ ll work with our airline partners [and ask] ‘What are your problems?’ “Whether it ’ s on the cargo side or whether it ’ s on the gate environment side or the passenger processing side , we can bring different companies to the table,” he said. Seeking solutions With Icelandair , PIT is exploring autonomy in aircraft offloading and warehous ing , Rotterdam said. “And then we can bring these companies in and experiment and provide that level of laboratory in a real-world sense ,” Rotterdam said. While PIT’s new 80,000-square-foot cargo terminal, Cargo4 — a part of the airport’s $1.57 billion terminal expansion — will not be operational for another six months, it will contain cooling containers with digital tracking for its perishables, Rotterdam said. Cargo expansion Iceland is the world’s seventh-largest exporter of fish, according to a release from the ACAA. In 2022, the country exported about $1.2 billion in fish, according to The Observatory of Economic Complexity . PIT is a “good cross-section” between the U.S. and Europe , and Icelandair sees the route as advantageous for the carrier’s imports and exports, the release stated. While PIT did not rank on Air Cargo Next ’s top 50 cargo airports list, airport leaders are aiming to grow the hub’s prominence by advanc ing technology in ways that impact regional corners of the N ortheast, Rotterdam said. PIT saw a cargo throughput of 99,667 tonnes in 2022, according to the airport. “How can we help the region?” Rotterdam said. “How can we help our customers? We know that , from a passenger standpoint, cargo is incredibly important. And so , if we can help the belly component for British Airways or for Icelandair, and we can move things through quicker, we can bring in the technology piece and we have more of a holistic view on how it all comes together. And frankly, we just have a sense of an entrepreneurial spirit with us as well.” Register here for Air Cargo Next ’s upcoming webinar, “Air Cargo and Pharma: Using Technology to Save Lives,” on Tuesday, June 18, at 11 a.m. ET.

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