The International Airlines Group (IAG) has taken a key step forward in enhancing its cargo offering by marking the official opening of a new facility at London Heathrow (LHR). Known as New Premia, this temperature-controlled handling center will process premium cargo on the southern periphery of the UK's busiest airport.
Facts and figures
IAG Cargo's New Premia is an impressive facility from a numerical standpoint. With a footprint of over 10,000 square meters, the building will allow IAG Cargo to process more than twice as many premium shipments as was the case at its adjacent Old Premia facility. Within this space are 20 'break and build' workstations.
As pictured above, the landside edge of New Premia features 11 delivery doors, which allow for a significant amount of inbound and outbound lorry traffic. To help facilitate this, IAG Cargo has also installed screens to streamline engagement with lorry drivers, who can be told where to park without leaving their cabs.
Simple Flying visited New Premia last week - keep your eyes peeled for more content!
On the other side of these doors, IAG Cargo deploys four large transfer vehicles to autonomously move cargo between the transfer stations pictured above. Their usage marks part of a key emphasis on giving premium shipments a more digital journey than in the adjacent manual-focussed Old Premia facility.
Bespoke IT systems have made the dream a reality
Moving from manual processing to the new semi-automated approach required significant work in terms of IT upgrades. Indeed, bespoke systems had to be designed to facilitate this new approach, which have now been integrated to regulate and increase the flow of premium cargo through the facility. Commenting on New Premia's official opening, IAG Cargo CEO David Shepherd stated that:
"The opening of New Premia is a pivotal milestone for IAG Cargo, and the benefits it will bring both to our customers and our operational teams are huge. We strive to provide the best service for our customers, and the investment into our IT systems will improve our operational performance, optimizing the movement of cargo to support global trade."
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IAG Cargo's transition to New Premia has been a long time in the making, with staff training for the facility having commenced some 18 months ago. This will continue as more and more operations switch to New Premia, with the transition also having prompted the creation of new roles such as Planning Managers.
Temperature control is an important aspect
While New Premia's large footprint allows a greater amount of cargo in general to be processed, the facility's temperature-controlled nature also means that a wider range of shipments can be handled. A key part of this operational strategy is the presence of an annex known as the Constant Climate Quality Centre (CCQC).
The CCQC was specifically designed to handle pharmaceutical shipments, which have, understandably, been on the rise in recent years. With 29 dedicated cool cells present, environments ranging from +2°C to +8°C (COL), +15°C to +25°C (CRT), and at -20°C (FRO) mean that there is an area of the facility for every shipment.
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London Heathrow Airport
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- LHR-EGLL
- Country:
- United Kingdom
- CEO:
- John Holland-Kaye
- Passenger Count :
- 19,392,178 (2021)
- Runways :
- 09L/27R - 3,902m (12,802ft) | 09R/27L - 3,660m (12,008ft)
- Terminals:
- Terminal 2 | Terminal 3 | Terminal 4 | Terminal 5
