Unlocking Logistics Advantages at Secondary Airports

Secondary airports offer unique advantages that can enhance air freight in Europe. These benefits, including competitive pricing, specialized cargo handling, shorter taxi times, and comprehensive security checks, directly impact cost-efficiency, speed, specialized service capabilities, and safety for freight forwarders.

 

Competitive Pricing

Smaller airports can offer lower landing, storage, and handling fees for several reasons. First, their location away from major urban centers means that land and development costs are significantly reduced, which makes it less expensive to build airport facilities. Second, with fewer flights to manage, small airports face less competition for resources such as runway slots and terminal space. This decreased demand allows them to utilize their facilities without the need for costly expansions. Third, small airports incur lower maintenance costs because the wear and tear on runways, terminals, and support infrastructure is less intense compared to busier hubs. These factors enable them to provide more competitive pricing to European logistics companies.

 

Specialized Cargo Handling

Some secondary airports are equipped to handle specialized cargo types such as perishables, delicate equipment, and hazardous materials, often outperforming busier primary airports. This is mainly due to the availability of space which allows for the installation of specialized facilities. For example, isolation areas can be set up for genetically modified organisms, viral cultures, and biological toxins to ensure they are contained and do not cross-contaminate the local ecosystem or other cargo. Additionally, anti-vibration platforms may be available to move delicate instruments such as high-resolution microscopes or precision laser measurement systems which require stability to maintain their calibration and functionality.

With such specialized areas available, smaller airports can control shipments more precisely which for forwarders means satisfying client demands more effectively.

 

Shorter Taxi Times

In major airports, a single aircraft might spend 30 minutes or more navigating through a complex web of often congested taxiways, contending with other aircraft that are either waiting to take off or just have landed. By contrast, secondary airports have fewer runways and taxiways and aircraft may spend as little as 5 to 10 minutes taxiing. They also experience less traffic which allows planes to quickly move to a cargo bay for offloading, reloading, and dispatch.

This streamlined process directly benefits ground forwarders as shorter taxiing times and quicker cargo processing improve their ability to meet tight delivery schedules.

 

Comprehensive Checks

Due to the lower number of flights and reduced cargo volumes at secondary airports, personnel can conduct more detailed checks such as manual inspections of cargo, the deployment of sniffer dogs, and even comprehensive background checks on the entities sending and receiving the cargo. These checks can involve confirming the legal existence and business licenses of the companies involved in shipping and receiving goods. Additionally, background checks may include an examination of the historical shipping activities of the involved parties, which can reveal patterns indicative of improper dealings. Issues such as frequent shipments to high-risk countries, discrepancies between the declared and actual contents, and other suspicious activities might raise serious concerns.

Such stringent measures benefit forwarders by minimizing the risk of inadvertently handling non-compliant cargo which ensures their operations adhere to legal and safety standards.