Finnair Cargo has appointed Swissport as the terminal operator for its €80m COOL Nordic Cargo Hub at Helsinki Airport, taking over operations from June 1.
The 31,000 sq m facility opened in 2018, focused on temperature-sensitive and high-value cargo shipments between Europe and Asia.
In addition to its operations at the COOL Nordic Cargo hub, Swissport will continue to provide cargo services for further customers at its own cargo terminals at Helsinki airport.
The new contract runs util 2024. From June, Swissport will handle over 600 tons of perishables, pharmaceuticals and general cargo daily.
Janne Tarvainen, Finnair Cargo managing director, said: “Swissport is one of the world’s biggest air cargo handling companies and they are our cargo handling partner at numerous airports around the world.
"We are confident that with their solid industry knowledge and drive for innovation and operational excellence they are an ideal partner for us to develop and expand our COOL concept of data-driven and proactive operations steering in the Finnair network.”
A spokesperson for Finnair Cargo added : "With operations in the terminal now fully stabilised Finnair Cargo aims to shift focus to network-wide data-driven operational excellence."
Tomi Viitanen, chief executive of Swissport Finland, said: “This new agreement strengthens our long-standing relationship with Finnair and we are excited to contribute to their transformation journey as the operator of their main hub.
"We share their vision of high-quality service and look forward to exploring the opportunities that digitalisation can bring to air cargo handling.”
The Helsinki facility is equipped with innovative technology to accelerate handling processes and increase transparency for customers.
There are dedicated temperature-controlled areas, which are reserved for perishables and pharmaceuticals. The packing area for seafood and other perishables is kept between 6° and 8° Celsius and the storage area at 2° Celsius.
In the pharmaceutical area the average temperature is 20° Celsius. In addition, sealed-off rooms provide storage in a temperature range between 2° and 8° Celsius and for goods that need to be frozen at lower temperatures.
