Ground_Support_December1220_January0121 - 29

CARGO MATTERS

federal funding. They had to continuously
adjust while keeping the project on track to
continue construction schedule.
" If that was a single highway lane, it's
52.5 miles of highway lane miles, " Hippchen says. " It's a substantial amount of
concrete. "
The project removed old taxiway and
green space, which was added to the ramp
space to create more parking for aircraft.
" Unlike before, depending on the type of
aircraft and the weight of that aircraft, we
couldn't put them in certain areas because
of issues we were having with FOD, " Borgstedte says. " Now with doing this reconstruction we can totally utilize the extent
of the ramp without having any concerns
for the ground handling gear they have to
use to unload the aircraft. "
LRD coordinated with tenants during
the ramp construction to help work around
operations as the project moved forward.
Once completed it will allow better parking opportunities and more fuel-efficient
aircraft operations as they will be able to
move straight onto the taxiway.
" At no time has the airport wanted to
disrupt the operations, " Borgstedte says.
" We want to work very closely with our
stakeholders to make sure that the operations have minimal impact if any and work
around them and the different operations
they have in order to allow them while construction is still ongoing. "
Laredo plans to build new taxiways once
the ramp is completed. The improvements
mean the airport can service cargo aircraft
of most any size safely.
" It's really a fine example of a relationship between the airport and the city and
the FAA in truly recognizing the importance of it, " says Amanda O'Krongley, vice
president of aviation for RS&H. " It's not
just a piece of pavement. Normally, cargo
ramp space isn't typically a high priority, so
the recognition to get the federal funding
for a piece of pavement that's not a runway, that's not a taxiway, but is an economic
generator for the city. "
LRD is working with the Mexican government to expand opportunities. The
Mexican preclearance program is limited
to aerospace, automotive, electronics and
electrical components. However, e-com-

The new cargo
apron at Laredo
International
Airport spans
more than 3.3
million square
feet.
Photo courtesy of
Alejandro Labrada

merce is an emerging industry in Mexico,
but Prime Flights don't fly to Mexico.
" We have the staff today, we have the
ramp we have the runways, we really just
need the Mexican government to change
some of the laws to allow a company like
Amazon to use the program, " Miller says.
" If we're successful in conversations like
that, there will be exponential growth. "

GSP Triples Capacity
Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) opened a $33 million air cargo
facility last September to increase its ability to handle domestic and international
freight.
GSP's 2018 economic impact study
found that the airport has a $2.9 billion
impact on the Upstate economy.

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