For the first time, a Boeing 747-400 aircraft en route to Mexico’s Querétaro Intercontinental Airport has taxied down the runway at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in South Carolina, writes Janie Rosman.
The new destination was airfreight company Senator International’s first flight to Latin America from GSP as previous flights were only to Europe. Querétaro, near Mexico City in Mexico’s Bajio region, is home to automotive, aerospace and production operations.
GSP senior vice president and chief operating officer Kevin Howell calls the Sunday to Monday roundtrip routes “another opportunity for manufacturers to move materials, parts, and products quickly and more efficiently.”
A large part of planning included ensuring staff availability to help load and unload aircraft at both the sending and receiving airport.
Confident
Two years ago, GSP initiated air cargo services provider Cerulean Commercial Aviation, offering on-airport cargo facilities, build-up and break-down of cargo, BUP transfer, bulk and containerised aircraft loading and unloading, on- call charter cargo handling, customs documentation processing, and aircraft refueling.
“We were confident that we could support companies like Senator International,” GSP president and CEO Dave Edwards says.
While automotive parts and goods comprise a large part of Cerulean Aviation’s cargo, the company varies briefly this fall, when nearby Mill Spring, North Carolina, is hosting the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games. Held this year from September 11 to 23, the event is estimated to attract more than 1,500 horses.
Approximately 600 horses, including some from overseas, will fly to GSP for transport to the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring. Senator operated eight weekly round-trip flights in June from GSP, whose traffic numbers increased steadily during the past the past 18 months. The company began freight traffic flights between Frankfurt Hahn, Germany and Querétaro in May.
