Airports Swissport opens pharma center at Brussels Airport

The company said that it is investing in a new cargo facility with a material handling system, office space and warehouse capabilities. Swissport said, that the building will consists of 25,000sqm and 3,620sqm of end-to-end facilities in the new pharma center.

The new Swissport warehouse includes a four-story office building for the company and customers. The state-of-the-art pharmaceutical facilities will provide Swissport with the needed infrastructure to further grow its cargo service at Brussels. An increased surface area for pharmaceutical products will be available.

Furthermore, a new Material Handling System (MHS) will be installed to make sure, that the highest industry standards are being met. Landside, 40 truck loading bays will ensure smooth connections from air freight to road freight. Airside, so-called speed gates will enable more efficient logistical processes from the warehouse to the aircraft.

“Our new warehouse and the state-of-the-art Swissport Pharma Center will be the benchmark for modern and efficient air cargo and pharma logistics”, says Luzius Wirth, Executive Vice President Europe, Middle-East & Africa (EMEA) for Swissport. “The investment underlines our commitment to the Belgian market. In parallel we are working to improve the profitability of our Belgian business activities in order to create long-term job security for our staff.”

A long-term agreement with Brussels Airport has been signed that will see Swissport investing several million euros in the new warehouse. However, the building is yet to be finished. Construction works initially started back in January 2019. Swissport expects the completion in one and a half years.

Swissport is the leading company in airport ground services. The company wrote: "In 2018, Swissport International AG provided best-in-class airport ground services for some 282 million airline passengers and handled roughly 4.8 million tons of air freight in 115 cargo warehouses worldwide. Several of its warehouses have been certified for pharmaceutical logistics by IATA’s CEIV. The world's leading provider of airport ground services and air cargo handling, with 66,000 employees, achieved consolidated operating revenue of 2.99 billion euros in 2018. At the end of June 2019, Swissport was active at 310 airports in 49 countries on six continents."