DCN December Edition 2019

AIR CARGO
“Western Sydney International represents the next
step in increasing air cargo capacity for Australia’s
biggest market but it also provides opportunity to
increase the share market of air cargo in the overall
logistics stream, especially for highly sought-after
exports such as perishables.”
Australian
airports currently
transport more
than one million
tonnes of air
freight annually
and this is
forecast to grow
considerably over
the next decade.
Aerial view of the WSA site at Badgerys Creek in western Sydney
“Growing demand for pharmaceuticals,
temperature-sensitive and perishable products will also
play a key role in the future of air freight.”
As Mr Millett explains, the new airport will
reconfigure the way goods are also moved to the point
of export, reducing the need to move goods by road in
the quest for a suitable international flight.
“Goods produced in New South Wales will no longer
have to be trucked to Brisbane or Melbourne in order to
reach lucrative Asian markets overnight,” he says.
Peter Assel, managing director of freight company
Skyroad Logistics, says WSA has significant air cargo
export and import opportunities.
“Sydney remains the hardest city in which to
handle air cargo movements into and out of due to
its infrastructure limitations, and Western Sydney
International not only represents a solution for this but
also a closer solution than current secondary feeder
airports,” Mr Assel says.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK
Australian airports currently transport more than
one million tonnes of air freight annually and this is
forecast to grow considerably over the next decade. The
airport, due for completion by 2026, will come online
in time to claim a share of this growing market.
Initial earthworks began at Badgerys Creek last year
and more than 1.5m tonnes of earth has so far been
moved on the 1780 hectare site. A terminal design has
just been released and construction on that is expected
to start in 2022.
An architectural team made up of London-based
Zaha Hadid Architects and Cox Architecture in Sydney
was chosen from more than 40 entrants as the winners
of the terminal precinct design competition.
“The brief was to design an airport that the people of
western Sydney can be proud of and provide a real sense
of place that pays tribute to the natural landforms,
history and features of greater Sydney,” Mr Millett says.
“While the exterior of the terminal complements
the natural landscape beautifully, we’ve always said
that our focus was on the customer journey within
the terminal and that really shines through in these
concept designs.”
He says sustainability was another key criterion
and the winning design stood out for its use of passive
design, taking advantage of natural airflows and
lighting and efficient solar shading.
ZHA project director Cristiano Ceccato said it was
an honour to have been selected and that the “design
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA TO ADD TOKYO TO CARGO NETWORK
Virgin Australia will add Japan to its
international cargo network in March
with the launch of daily services between
Brisbane and Tokyo-Haneda.
Commencing on 29 March 2020,
cargo space on the new route will be
marketed by Virgin Atlantic Cargo under
its international long-haul sales and
marketing agreement with Virgin Australia.
The daily Airbus A330 flight will offer
between 15-20 tonnes of cargo capacity.
The new route, Virgin Australia’s
first-ever service to Tokyo, is expected
to attract strong demand from both
passengers and cargo customers.
With the launch of the new Brisbane-
Tokyo route, Virgin Australia will be
suspending its existing Hong Kong-
Melbourne service with effect from 11
February 2020 due to softening passenger
demand but will continue to closely
monitor the route and look to re-enter the
market in the future.
Dominic Kennedy, managing director of
Virgin Atlantic Cargo, says, “Cargo customers
in Australia and Japan will be very pleased
to see the launch of Tokyo-Haneda services
and we expect this new direct route to
open up significant opportunities for both
imports and exports”.
The company will continue to
offer capacity on Virgin Australia’s
daily Sydney-Hong Kong flights and
provide a direct trucking service
between Melbourne and Sydney to
ensure customers retain access to the
important Hong Kong cargo market.
Virgin Atlantic Cargo trades in
37 countries and sells services to
destinations in over 60 countries.
Western Sydney Airport; Ryan Fletcher
42 December 2019
thedcn.com.au