Milan-Malpensa offers second line options

SEA, operator of Italy’s busiest airfreight gateway, Milan-Malpensa International Airport, is to offer freight forwarders and express service providers the option to build second line warehouses at the hub.
Though the facilities would not have direct access to the apron, they would be located within the airport and close to its Cargo City.
The move represents a part of SEA’s strategy to upgrade the cargo infrastructure at Malpensa.
The operator notes that any such second line warehouses would be “complementary” to those on the first line, and are not a new idea by any means – they are already a feature of many other European airports, though they have not been seen up to now in Italy.
“These new facilities could create the conditions for a more efficient, safe and cost-effective logistics chain using Malpensa Airport, giving users new opportunities to be more competitive in handling goods arriving at and departing from this airport,” a statement from SEA insisted.
A Request for Expressions of Interest has been issued for those keen to investigate the possibilities.
In October, Milan-Malpensa enjoyed its highest ever monthly airfreight throughout – the figure of 53,000 tonnes was up by 15% on the same month of 2015.
October’s record also built on a successful September, when year on year cargo traffic rose by 11%.
Over the course of the January – October period, Milan-Malpensa’s cargo volumes rose by 6.4% year on year.
The airport accounts for 56% of Italian airfreight traffic, and is the sixth-busiest air cargo gateway in Europe.