Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport says Asia continues to drive growth and it sees an opportunity for the gateway to be the main connecting point for the region with Latin America (LATAM).
DFW continues to grow and in the 2015 fiscal year ending 30 September, cargo volumes rose 6.6 per cent compared to 2014.
The airport’s assistant vice president for cargo and global logistics, Mark Thorpe, tells Air Cargo Week: “Imports, particularly from Asia, continue to drive air trade growth at DFW, and DFW is ideally located for North American distribution.
“This combination has made our airport and our customs district an increasingly important point of distribution for new regions to North Texas, such as the Middle East.
“Moreover, DFW is an efficient connection point for trade between regions, such as Asia and South America, and a growing gateway for consolidation of exports from the central US region and Mexico to Asia and Europe.”
American Airlines continues to drive cargo traffic growth at DFW by increasing its operations, replacing its fleet with larger aircraft with more cargo capacity and adding routes such as a daily service to Beijing.
Freighters continue to play an important role in the airport’s growth, Thorpe explains. He says Air China Cargo’s route change adding Edmonton (Canada) as a mid-point between Shanghai and DFW, is an important link as “opens opportunities for technology, perishables, and oil and natural gas sectors.”
In the future, Thorpe says DFW believes there is the chance to efficiently connect Asia with Latin and South America, providing the best trade lane between the regions.
The Americas region continues to be DFW’s staple due to its location to manufacturers along the US and Mexico border and for distribution of imports to the US from Asia and Europe.
Thorpe sees continued freighter and bellyhold cargo capacity and service growth in the future and says it is focused on developing infrastructure to be more competitive in targeted trade lanes and commodity classes.
Next week’s Air Cargo Americas in Miami is vital for DFW. “This show provides us with a unique opportunity to establish and grow partnerships that will help DFW achieve its traffic growth goals.”
