British postal and courier company Royal Mail has announced that Glasgow Prestwick Airport will become the UK's newest international e-commerce hub.
Royal Mail said the airport was chosen because it offers a number of advantages over other airports across the UK, including up to half the cost of landing at some UK hubs.
Nico le Roux, development director at Glasgow Prestwick Airport, said: “We are confident that our new 'fast and efficient e-commerce solution' will provide real cost savings to our customers compared to other UK air cargo hubs, whilst ensuring we can meet our delivery time commitments to our customers.”
“We do everything in-house, from ground operations and warehousing to fire services and air traffic control, which gives us more flexibility.
“The carrier only has to call our operations line once and we handle everything. This streamlined process is a huge benefit.”
Jules Matteoni, operations director at Glasgow Prestwick Airport, said: “Our joint solution with Royal Mail will enable full visibility and traceability from landing to delivery to the customer, potentially saving lead times through simplified processes.”
Vivian Davies, Royal Mail's director of international imports, said: “Prestwick Airport offers a 24-hour service with no flight restrictions, congestion or curfews for both inbound and outbound flights, which is key to the rapid response required in the e-commerce sector.”
“By partnering with Prestwick, we are confident we can offer our existing and new international e-commerce customers an unrivalled service in terms of both delivery times and costs.”
Glasgow Prestwick Airport recently announced a £2.2 million investment in its cargo facilities and has received two extra wide high loaders with load capacities of 20 tonnes and 35 tonnes respectively, a large pushback tractor capable of accommodating all types of aircraft, 12 new trolleys and a new Rapiscan X-ray machine with 7mm steel plate penetrations.
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