Behind the scenes at UK’S biggest air cargo operation
IF you have ordered online gifts for Christmas and they are coming from abroad, then the chances are they will arrive through East Midlands Airport in time for the big day.
That latest electronic gadget coming from the Far East or fashion item from the US will join approaching 400,000 tonnes of cargo handled by the airport each year, making it the UK’S largest dedicated air cargo operation.
It is also the UK’S number one airport for express freight with carriers DHL,
UPS, Fedex and Royal Mail all operating out of the airport with dedicated warehouses and hubs.
The proximity of the airport to the rail freight hub nearby and its position at the intersection of the M1, M42, A50 and A6 means goods can be in major centres around the UK within four hours. And the increase in cargo handling looks set to continue, after September was its heaviest-ever month for cargo with 40,636 tonnes being handled – a 32 percent increase on the same month last year.
Forecasts suggest that during this year’s Christmas season, which runs through this month and next, the volume of goods may be up by 20,000 tonnes compared to last year.
Cargo figures have soared following people’s increasing reliance on online shopping during the Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with a fall in passenger flights and a subsequent lack of bellyhold capacity (where cargo goes in the hold of passenger planes). The knockon effect is a mini-boom at EMA with additional cargo flights to and from East Midlands Airport and the USA.
Visiting the airport on the evening before the second lockdown, the car park was almost deserted and there was a distinct lack of activity around the terminals.
There was the smell of aviation fuel in the air – sufficient to suggest something was happening airside – but no major activity at 8pm because that was all still to come overnight.
Once through the terminal, it rapidly became obvious there was actually plenty happening, with many of the 9,000 workers either on duty in massive warehouses, loading and unloading planes that come in with increasing frequency as the night progresses, or those whose job it is to keep them airworthy.
Numerous planes, sporting freight company logos, were parked – with many being loaded and ready to leave later. And as each plane came in, the aircraft marshal stepped forward with his wands and signalled the pilot to taxi to the allotted stand in a well-choreographed move.
This was the signal for an army of staff to descend on the plane to refuel if needed and check out everything – once the chocks have been put in place under the wheels. And if the cargo containers are not ready and waiting, a fleet of them soon appeared from nearby warehouses ready for loading.
They are designed in shapes that mean they fit snugly into the body of the aircraft, shaped and moulded on one side to slide in easily and snugly, alongside the plane’s inner body.
Quite often, the first couple of cargo containers off a flight will contain packages, letters or documents – often items that need a personal signature and for which an emailed or photocopied version simply will not do.
The cost of sending these can be more than enough to pay for the whole flight and so carrying everything else on board is profit from then on in.
Some of the more exotic cargo handled by the airport have included artworks, one of which was worth $65 million, a satellite and 13 Aston Martin cars each valued at £1 million. Also the global motor-racing industry, complete with safety and doctors’ cars and television cameras, flies out of the airport three or four times a year.
The airport covers the equivalent of 100 football pitches and is unusual because aircraft are allowed to fly and in and out an unlimited amount in a 24-hour period.
When the airport opened in 1965, no-one could have guessed the relatively short-hop holiday flights to Jersey and Palma would one day give way to international links and now it is considered the region’s gateway to mainland Europe and north-east Africa.
Over the last 12 months, the airport has facilitated £11 billion of trade with non-eu countries and approximately £40 billion worth of goods to and from the EU and Latin America, Asia, North America and the Middle East, which are some of the biggest regions for exports.
Stephen Harvey, head of cargo and general aviation, said: “Logistics operators based at EMA continue to grow in response to the unprecedented demand for e-commerce and nextday-deliveries. In recent years over £200m has been invested in new facilities which has helped create many new jobs for local people.”
UPS’S new facility, due to open in 2021, will employ over 1,000 people and will be one of its largest airside “hubs” outside the US.
Even over the summer months, traditionally the quieter time of year for air cargo, volumes were significantly up on the same time last year. In July and August, there was an increase of 21.2 percent and 18.5 percent, respectively.
Mr Harvey said: “The lack of bellyhold availability on passenger planes has particularly impacted key markets, especially on popular routes to the US. Therefore there have been additional cargo flights to and from East Midlands Airport and the US.
“DHL Express has, in recent months, launched new routes to JFK Airport, Miami International and Los Angeles.”
In an unusual year for most things, the airport has also been an important cog in the transport of vital equipment to combat coronavirus such as PPE and other equipment, being flown in from Italy. Of course, all of this is in stark contrast to the collapse in passenger traffic facing the UK’S aviation sector.
According to Mr Harvey: “The introduction of the UK Government’s quarantine regime and the often shortnotice changes to the list of countries, and now the current lockdown, has resulted in passenger numbers falling by about 90 percent.
“This is why the UK aviation sector has called for urgent changes to the UK Government’s policies, including a regionalised approach to quarantine, the introduction of a robust testing regime and greater transparency over the methodology being used.”
The success of the cargo operation can be told through an array of eyewatering statistics such as tonnages, numbers of flights, cargo worth, infrastructure investment and staffing numbers. But the most amazing thing is that most of this activity takes place when many of us are in our beds.
Up to 90 flights are in and out nightly, normally mirroring the daytime passenger activity in any other year than 2020. In a “normal year”, the airport is also served by airlines Ryanair, Jet2, TUI, Aurigny and Loganair. They carried 4.9 million passengers (pre-covid) each year to a choice of 80 international and domestic destinations.
Mr Harvey said: “Airports are key contributors to the regional economy. EMA’S annual gross value added (GVA) contribution equates to approximately £300m and it provides a £1 billion economic uplift to businesses in the region.”