WFS expands handling operations at LHR with new facility

Cargo handler Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) is adding a fifth facility to its cargo operations at Heathrow Airport (LHR) due to the rising demand for pharma and other temperature-sensitive shipments. [caption id="attachment_75099" align="alignright" width="450"] WFS' pharma facility at CDG opened in 2019. Photo/WFS[/caption] The off-site 55,000-square-foot facility, named “Centre Point,” is currently being refurbished and should be fully operational in August or September, Jennifer Smith , U.K. commercial director of cargo and ground handling at WFS, told Air Cargo World . Smith noted that a rising demand in e-commerce has also contributed to the need for extra warehouse space, in addition to the roughly 320,000 square feet WFS currently has at LHR. “We’ve also seen a demand in temperature-sensitive products as well, so across our stations, we’ve been introducing new pharma facilities” at airports including Brussels (BRU) and Frankfurt (FRA) , said Smith. The new facility has a “very good vantage point for the agents with it being off-airport and not in the ‘horseshoe,’” as LHR’s cargo center is known, said Smith, adding that it would “be perfect for several small airlines, or one large one.” Specifics of the warehouse infrastructure are still up in the air as WFS hopes to query customers before deciding which features the facility will offer, said Smith. “It is our intention to offer a wide range of services to prospective customers, including cargo handling, mail, courier and e-commerce,” she said. “If the facility is for common purpose, we will construct an operation suitable to all, [and] if dedicated, it will be bespoke to the customers’ requirements.” In addition to the new Centre Point facility, WFS is looking at new electric track vehicle (ETV) conveyor systems for its U.K. facilities, and is also planning to implement kiosk-based, self-service reception points for truck drivers at LHR to help expedite cargo deliveries and collections while also easing traffic congestion. WFS has been expanding its cool-chain handling capabilities in recent years. In addition to the new facilities at LHR, BRU and FRA, the handler also opened both a dedicated 1,500-square-meter pharmaceutical facility in Copenhagen (CPH) and a CEIV certified pharma facility in Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) , in 2019.

WFS expands handling operations at LHR with new facility

Centre Point facility expected to be operational by September

Air cargo to climb into mid-2022 amid shipping delays, DHL says

April carrier traffic highlights ongoing surge in airfreight demand

April carrier traffic highlights ongoing surge in airfreight demand

Cargo Facts Free Newsletters

Cargo Facts Connect Podcast

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password