SEOUL — Aurora Air International, a cargo airline which recently re-entered the air cargo market after deactivating nearly 20 years ago, plans to establish a new headquarters at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport.
The company made the announcement at the TIACA Air Cargo Forum in Seoul on Wednesday.
The airline, which will operate DC 10s, plans to schedule Latin America to MidAmerica to Asia and return routes. It will specialize in perishables and pharmaceuticals trade. MidAmerica says the move fills in a critical gain in the trade lane that the airport and Ningbo Lishe International Airport in China have been working on for the past two years. Airports on the route will be announced in early 2015.
“As airplanes start to operate out of MidAmerica, a new, closed, safe, certified secure cold chain will be available to Midwest product shippers to and from Asia and Latin America with less handling and ground movement than is available today,” said Carlos Smith, Aurora’s president.
Ningbo and MidAmerica have been engaged in a joint cooperation agreement for marketing and trade support helping freight to be collected for airlines using the MidAmerica to Ningbo and return routing.