Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) is taking a 20-year lease on a new air cargo terminal at Lyon Airport Saint Exupéry (LYS) in France to help meet pharma and perishables air cargo demand.
The new site will serve as a strategic anchor for WFS operations in France, allowing the consolidation of activities previously spread across multiple sites, said WFS.
Due to open in summer 2026, the terminal on the airport's DC1 site is located directly adjacent to the runway and will offer over 19,000 sq m of warehouse space and more than 2,000 sq m of canopy.
It will also include 4,400 sq m of temperature-controlled capacity that is Good Distribution Practice (GDP) compliant. This capacity will be dedicated to pharmaceutical shipments and perishables requiring +2/25°C storage.
The building includes 36 dock doors, including five specially configured for aircraft pallets.
The airport aims to achieve BREEAM sustainability building programme certification. As part of this commitment, the new terminal will feature a photovoltaic roof installation, LED lighting, and electric vehicle charging stations on-site. Energy produced onsite will power WFS’ operations, with any surplus fed back into the local grid.
The development project is being undertaken for WFS in partnership with Groupe em2c, Prologis and Lyon Airport Authority. Once opened, the new cargo terminal will contribute to supporting the development of the Rhônes-Alpes economic region for exporters, importers, and local industrial companies.
Laurent Bernard, vice-president of WFS France, said: “Aéroport de Lyon DC1 will become our second largest hub in France after Paris CDG for our French operations. Its strategic location and design will allow us to streamline cargo processing, especially for pharma shipments in the world’s leading vaccine-producing region.
”The new terminal will shorten turnaround times and increase our capacity in one of France’s most important logistics corridors, while reducing our carbon footprint with a modern building that has earned a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ classification, which measures the sustainability of buildings.”
In February, WFS started operations at its new New York JFK Airport facility - the first newbuild cargo terminal at the airport in 30 years.
