Britain鈥檚 biggest dedicated air cargo operation has invested in growth with the appointment of a new senior team member.
As competition for passengers intensifies, East Midlands Airport hopes to grow its cargo operations over the coming years, exploiting its location at the very heart of the country.
It has just appointed Steven Harvey as vice president of cargo, heading up goods operations.
Early next year the airport 鈥 which is situated just off the M1 on the Leicestershire/Derbyshire border 鈥 will unveil a new commercial strategy outlining the investments it intends to make to respond to forecast growth in air cargo.
The airport is second only to Heathrow in terms of the total annual tonnage of cargo it handles, and is the number airport one in Britain when it comes to dedicated, cargo planes.
Despite a challenging global market, this calendar year has seen an increase in the volume of goods going through it to 370,000 tonnes 鈥 up 1.15 per cent on 2018.
Over the last 12 months, it has seen the value of non-EU goods that pass through it each year rise by 拢1 billion to 拢11 billion.
The airport recorded its highest ever monthly cargo volume in October when it handled almost 35,000 tonnes of goods.
Right now work is nearing completion on an extension to its east apron, which serves the big FedEx, UPS, and Royal Mail operations based there.
That will allow up to four more aircraft to be parked at any one time and support the growing schedules of the existing and new prospective operators.
Also on east side of the airport, a new 拢114 million UPS facility is taking shape.
It is doubling the size of its operation there, making it UPS鈥檚 biggest air logistics facility outside the US.
Over a 30 year career Mr Harvey has worked for a number of specialist cargo airlines, including CargoLogicAir,聽 EMEIA Atlas Air and Volga Dnepr 海角视频 and Ruslan International
He was also director of business partnerships and new market development at CargoLogic Management 鈥 the company which oversees a group of cargo airlines including Volga Dnepr, Airbridgecargo, Atran and CargoLogicAir.
Mr Harvey said: 鈥淚鈥檓 very excited to be joining the team at East Midlands Airport.
鈥淭he opportunities for the airport are significant particularly as the 海角视频 considers new trading relationships with countries all over the world.
鈥淚n future years, East Midlands Airport will play an even more critical role in facilitating 海角视频 trade, supporting businesses and creating jobs for people in this region.
鈥淚 look forward to helping the airport achieve this.鈥
Beth Brewster, the airport鈥檚 commercial and transformation director, said: 鈥淚鈥檓 delighted that Steven is joining East Midlands Airport at a time when we are planning for the longer-term.
鈥淪teven鈥檚 knowledge of the air cargo industry and, particularly his experience of working with airlines, will be invaluable as we shape our strategies for future growth.鈥
