IAG Cargo, the cargo division of International Airlines Group (IAG) has officially opened its New Premia cargo handling facility at London Heathrow.
New Premia will serve as IAG Cargo’s new home for handling premium loose shipments, enabling the company to double the amount of cargo it manages daily. To accommodate this increase in capacity, significant focus has been given to designing bespoke IT systems and systems integration to regulate freight movements and allocations inside the facility, IAG said.
The facility has been designed to handle more cargo as efficiently as possible, with 11 new landside doors, meaning even faster engagement for drivers to collect or drop off cargo. The temperature-controlled building includes a state-of-the-art Constant Climate Quality Centre (CCQC) for pharmaceuticals, with 29 dedicated cool cells and temperature facilities available from +2°C to +8°C (COL), +15°C to +25°C (CRT) and -20°C (FRO) ensuring sensitive shipments are held in a temperature-controlled environment at all times. Additionally, the +15°C to +25°C (CRT) chamber includes two dedicated break and build workstations. The new facility is certified under IAG Cargo’s Good Distribution Practice (GDP) WDA licence issued by the UK Medicines & Healthcare Regulatory Agency.
Operationally, four large transfer vehicles have been introduced, to service the 20 new workstations. These vehicles pass through rapid-rise doors, enabling cargo to be moved autonomously through the facility and into storage in advance of collection and delivery to the aircraft for exports, reversing the process for imports. The system is fully integrated with IAG Cargo’s existing warehouse management system – the first time this integration has been delivered, the company said.
Image: IAG Cargo
