New Mail & Cargo Terminal Project

Concurrently and right alongside the new passenger Terminal A nearing completion at Vnukovo International, [at the time of writing this article] the all-new Mail & Cargo Terminal has sprung up whose principal function is the handling and storage of air cargo and mail originating, terminating or transiting via Vnukovo International, as well as handling all the intrermodal cargo transhipments. The facility also provides mail & cargo customs clearance services, as well as those of a variety of resident cargo agents and forwarders.   The facility’s floorspace offer is an impressive total of 57 thousand square meters and it is capable of handling 150 thousand tons of cargo per year.

 The new Terminal is located right on the airfield’s edge, adjoining the soon-to-be-completed Passenger Terminal A. This location, favorable as it is, will allow to aprreciably cut down the delivery time of cargo consignments to the aircraft stands [loading positons]. This will in turn reduce the time it takes to accept a consignment for shipment by air to a mere 3 hours within a relevant flight’s departure.

  The Terminal’s first level accommodates warehouses for the storage of any type of cargo, including dangerous goods, radioactive substances, extra-heavy cargo, temperature-sensitive goods, the second level features duty-free goods and express shipments storage areas. The total floorspace offer for storage areas comprises 20 thousand square meters.  

Particular attention has been paid to the provision of convenient access routes, parking areas for customers, and large-capacity trucks. For reasons of security and safety of in-storage cargo, a closed circuit video surveillance system has been installed throughout the Terminal, whereas the cargo reconciliation and monitoring system has been set up with the minimum of human involvement [in the process] in mind.

The vision is for the Cargo Terminal to bring together under one roof all the operations, involving the acceptance, storage, processing of air freight, as well as comprehensive comercial and information support to be offered to both the consignees and carriers [airlines]. Not only that, but the concept also envisages that the facility will function as a business center uniting all the participants of the air cargo handling and delivery process into a single logistical chain, thus significantly reducing the time for the processing and fulfillment of each and every contractual obligation, and ensuring that high customer service standards are maintained every step of the way.

The share of express [package] deliveries in the overall air cargo market in Russia has been enjoying rapid growth in the recent years.

Vnukovo International in conjunction with the Federal Customs Service and the Russian Express Carriers’ Association, have set its sights on the pilot project of an express–cargo operations, logistics and business center which will be based in the new Mail & Cargo Terminal serving the Metropolis. The emphasis in this instance will be on the introduction of novel technology and equipment to help support that ambition.

Now that the Cargo Center is up and running, the current expectations are that it will help solve a  whole range of problems typical for this business. Vnukovo International is prepared to allocate dedicated [cargo] areas and office space to express delivery carriers for the latter to set up their respective storage and operations. Furthermore, the Airport will also be offering its tenant carriers and operators the facilities and capacity to fuel and accommodate their future growth.

The completion in Vnukovo of the modern Mail & Cargo Complex as part of the Airport Renovation & Development Masterplan, has primed the Airport for the introduction of new, much-improved customer service standards in the twin domains of passenger air travel and air cargo processing and delivery.