newstodate.aero
Jan 25, 2011 (newstodate): At Sweden's Norrkoping Airport, the cargo business is driven by horse-power, literally speaking..
-As the only airport in the region, we offer stable facilities for up to 80 horses at a time, and handling of horse shipments has traditionally been our prime cargo business, says Jorgen Nilsson, Norrkoping Airport marketing manager.
-It is, however, rather sensitive to depend this heavily on a single commodity, and we were hit severely by the general economic crisis as well as a temporary ban on exports of Icelandic horses in 2010. Cargo volumes thus dropped very low during the year, to only 149 tonnes compared to 550 tonnes in 2008.
-We are now seeing the horse shipments returning since October 2010, and this bodes well for the airport. But I would like to see other types of air cargo into Norrkoping Airport as we are fully capable of handling freighter aircraft of any size, including the Icelandair Cargo Boeing 757-200F that calls regularly with loads of Icelandic Horses.
-Apart from the flown cargo, trucked cargo is very significant at Norrkoping Airport where the independent company Cargo Center provides handling and palletizing of air cargo shipments that are then trucked to other airports, notably Stockholm Arlanda, ready for flight.
-Hopes are to attract more ad-hoc as well as scheduled freighter operators to the airport that is located in a region with much Swedish export industry, including SAAB, Ericsson and Ahlstrom facilities. Much of their cargo go by sea transportation, but it still leaves a potential for airfreight operators as well, says Mr Nilsson.
-As the only airport in the region, we offer stable facilities for up to 80 horses at a time, and handling of horse shipments has traditionally been our prime cargo business, says Jorgen Nilsson, Norrkoping Airport marketing manager.
-It is, however, rather sensitive to depend this heavily on a single commodity, and we were hit severely by the general economic crisis as well as a temporary ban on exports of Icelandic horses in 2010. Cargo volumes thus dropped very low during the year, to only 149 tonnes compared to 550 tonnes in 2008.
-We are now seeing the horse shipments returning since October 2010, and this bodes well for the airport. But I would like to see other types of air cargo into Norrkoping Airport as we are fully capable of handling freighter aircraft of any size, including the Icelandair Cargo Boeing 757-200F that calls regularly with loads of Icelandic Horses.
-Apart from the flown cargo, trucked cargo is very significant at Norrkoping Airport where the independent company Cargo Center provides handling and palletizing of air cargo shipments that are then trucked to other airports, notably Stockholm Arlanda, ready for flight.
-Hopes are to attract more ad-hoc as well as scheduled freighter operators to the airport that is located in a region with much Swedish export industry, including SAAB, Ericsson and Ahlstrom facilities. Much of their cargo go by sea transportation, but it still leaves a potential for airfreight operators as well, says Mr Nilsson.