By Jordan Green
UPS to Quadruple Ramp Space at Kansas City International Airport
UPS has announced that it will expand its ramp space at the Kansas City International Airport in Kansas City, Missouri. after the City Council of Kansas City approved an extended lease agreement for the shipping giant’s air gateway.
UPS leases its facility at Kansas City International from Aeroterm. The extended lease agreement is for a period of 30 years. Aeroterm Vice President of Investments and Development Greg Russell provided positive feedback about the project.
“We are proud to partner with UPS to help facilitate this exciting and high-profile cargo infrastructure project which enhances the airport’s air cargo sector with improved cargo processing efficiency,” Russel said. “We look forward to our continued partnership with UPS and the Kansas City Aviation Department to support the growing cargo demands at Kansas City International Airport.”
The project will expand UPS’s ramp space at Kansas City International to 534,000 square feet and increase the number of aircraft parking spaces from two to five. That will provide enough space to accommodate five wide-body aircraft at the same time.
UPS is also installing new sorting equipment at its Kansas City facility which will increase package handling capacity to 5,000 packages per hour. This is a significant increase from the facility’s current capacity of 1,500 packages per hour.
A UPS A300 aircraft (Photo: Little Flight Photography [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)])
UPS Central Plains District President Darren Jones commented on the need for the expanded facility.
“Demand for shipping, primarily due to e-commerce, is continuing to grow,” Jones said. “We need the additional capacity to continue providing outstanding service to customers in northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas.”
Officials from the Kansas City International Airport also appear to be excited about the expansion of the UPS facility; “Expedited transportation in the Kansas City region dates back to the Pony Express days in the 1800s,” said Kansas City Director of Aviation Pat Klein. “Our central U.S. location continues to be key for air freight operations. We have long been a partner of UPS and are thrilled with their upcoming expansion.”
UPS has had its air operation at Kansas City International Airport for 34 years and operates six flights per day there. Construction is planned to start in late October of this year. Completion is currently targeted for the fall of 2021.
Jordan focuses his writing on innovations in commercial aviation, aviation history, and other interesting topics he feels are worthy of discussion in the community.