Medical companies located around Cardiff (UK) could be a future source of airfreight supply for the city’s airport, according to a report by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport’s (CILT).
Its Vision 2035: Cymru Wales report looks ahead at how transport and logistics in the UK province of Wales will develop, taking account of population, technological developments and social and political change. Cardiff is the capital of Wales.
The report’s authors tell Air Cargo Week (ACW) that there is a cluster of companies in the medical industry near the airport and they forecast that these will grow between now and 2035 – the end date of the report’s prediction.
A professional body for logistic and transport professionals, the chair of CILT Cymru, Dr Andrew Potter, tells ACW: “At the moment there is almost no cargo through Cardiff Airport. Most of it is Royal Mail traffic. There is also a little bit carried on a KLM flight.”
He adds that there is capacity at the airport to deal with growth from the medical companies. This is because the airport is open 24 hours, aircraft approach over the sea so there are no noise issues, and infrastructure is in place with an on-site warehouse. The road network is also adequate, according to Potter.
He estimates that freight handling is just over 1,000 tonnes a year. In his view: “It is a decent sized airport and could handle more traffic. There is an opportunity for growth there.” The report was produced by CILT’s Cymru Wales National Committee.
