Amazon breaks ground on massive new cargo hub at CVG [VIDEO]
Following much anticipation over the past week, Amazon broke ground today on its new Amazon Air cargo hub at Cincinnati/North Kentucky International Airport (CVG). The giant e-tailer also released a video mock-up of the massive new facility, as seen below.
The $1.5 billion Amazon CVG cargo hub will be located on a 1,100-acre plot of land and will have the capacity to handle more than 100 aircraft at once, making it similar in size to other global hubs for major integrators, such as FedEx’s 900-acre hub at Memphis (MEM). Amazon’s CVG site is designed to accommodate national and international network operations, as reported by our sister site, Air Cargo World. The location enables Amazon’s trucks to reach 11 fulfillment centers within a few hours. The targeted opening and in-service date for phase 1 of the new hub, including 24 aircraft parking positions enabling up to 64 daily flights, is 2021. The full build-out of the planned 100 aircraft parking positions is expected in 2026 or later.
The hub will serve Amazon’s growing freighter fleet as it plans to add up to 20 737-800BCFs to its operation, to be flown by Atlas’ subsidiary, Southern Air, as reported by our sister site, Cargo Facts.
From January to April 2019, CVG reported a 5.8% year-over-year increase in its cargo handle to 413,255 tonnes of cargo. Increases in both freight and express mail contributed to this overall growth. Express volumes at the airport will likely surge following Amazon’s opening of its new hub at CVG.
Meanwhile, Amazon continues to grow its footprint at other airports in North America, including Tampa (TPA) and Chicago’s Rockford (RFD).
