Importance of Air Cargo in Anchorage Alaska
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Motivation
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is the world’s 4th busiest airport when it comes to cargo traffic. The reason why this is a major stopping point between Asia and North America. This city is a geographically valuable spot for transpacific travel, as it allows airlines to carry more cargo and less fuel when traveling overseas. This also gives the airlines an opportunity to load or unload cargo and swap crews. This is one of the most unique airports in the world especially when it comes to air cargo. Researching this airport will not only help us but bring awareness to our classmates as well.
Background Information
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is unique in their operations being only one of a few airports with co-mingling cargo flexibility. Co-mingling is an operation that allows for cargo to be transferred to another aircraft that may or may not be in the initial carrier’s fleet. This initiative was granted to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport and one other (Fairbanks International Airport) by the US Department of Transportation in 1996.
Key Issues
Although location plays to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport’s strengths, it also plays to its weaknesses by being only 104 miles away from Mount Redoubt. Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport was ranked in the top four as most affected airports due to volcanic activity.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ted Stevens Anchorage Airport started encountering issues. Cargo shipping was at an all time high between the increase in online orders placed as well as the shipment of pandemic-related medical supplies. In 2020, 3.5 tons of cargo moved through the airport, which is a 16% increase compared to years prior. This cargo increase caused a reduction in passenger flight, resulting in 62% less passenger travel than previous years.
Along with natural disasters and global pandemics. Ted Stevens Airport is severely underdeveloped when it comes to warehousing and facilities. Majority of combination carriers that need to switch cargo between aircraft have to do it exposed to the elements on the tarmac. A valued 1 Billion dollar series of projects is supposed to give space to those aircraft, and make it a more well rounded cargo airport. This could potentially push the airport into the #3 spot for cargo volume in the world, as there would be more capacity for transpacific flights.
Another Key Issue that this airport faces is weather. Being so far north winter activity is very prominent from September through May. Being that planes need a place to land after traveling for 10 or more hours from Asia, this becomes a major operation in the winter. Cargo flights are year round, and especially busy in the holiday months. The winter operations team at Ted Stevens is one of the best in the world. They are one of the leading examples in winterization of airports, and are constantly improvising. The airport has only ever shut down twice because of snowfall. But diversions do happen often and fairbanks cannot handle the same capacity as Ted Stevens. This cost the airport millions of dollars each year to sustain. They will continue to need the money from these cargo operations to stay profitable.
Stakeholders
A stakeholder is any one that is relying on the success of an operation for profit or survival. The stakeholders at this airport include companies like Korean Air, JAL, etc., and also the people of Anchorage and Alaska. Companies need this vital stopping point for international, domestic, and regional operations. While the people of Anchorage need the airport to be successful, as it is the source of 10% of all jobs in the city of Anchorage. It would be a huge economic loss to Alaska if this airport was to lose business or stop growing. Furthermore, people all over Alaska rely on supplies regionally from Ted Stevens to help them survive. There is no other way for them to receive supplies unless it is through air. The stakeholders with Ted Stevens International airport are extremely reliant on the airport’s success with air cargo traffic.
Solutions
Although Ted Steven International Airport faces issues in relation to its proximity to Mount Redoubt, it has focused a great amount of attention to mitigation efforts to volcanic hazards and formulating an operational plan, to include clean up, staying on top of important up to date information from the volcanological agency, implementing airport closure decision making protocols to ensure aircraft and passenger safety, and ensuring proper procedures for managing aircraft in ash-contaminating airspace.
To combat the cargo traffic increase due to the pandemic, companies have proposed measures to be able to support the increase in cargo traffic. The proposed new or improved cargo facilities, to include a new climate controlled facility measuring at approximately 700,000 square feet. This new facility will serve as the cold storage gateway between the Americas, Asia, and Europe.
Advantages and Disadvantages
In 2020, the cargo traffic at the Ted Stevens Anchorage Airport rose by 16 percent compared to the previous year. The increase was mainly due to the cancellation of the tourist season and the Covid-19 outbreak. Despite the impact of the pandemic on the world economy, air freight has thrived which gave an advantage to the cargo industry at Ted Stevens airport. As a result, most of the supply of goods heading to the US is being transported by air.
The tremendous growth in cargo volumes through Anchorage is being fueled by the rise of e-commerce and personal protective equipment (PPE). The pandemic has left a lasting mark on the industry, which is expected to continue to grow at a robust rate until 2021. The liberalized cargo transfer rights in Alaska will allow carriers to consolidate their cargo shipments in the region, which will allow them to reach their end customers more quickly. An advanced cold storage facility near an aircraft parking area will allow users to take advantage of the growing number of freight movements in Asia. On the other hand, there are some disadvantages which cargo faces, with the increased demand the airport also has to update the requirements. They need new aircraft, more space at the airport, cargo warehouses, and more technology to handle the increased demand of logistics.
Recommendations
The Ted Stevens Anchorage Airport is confident that the continued growth of its operations will continue in the future. However, it is experiencing significant volatility due to the global economic uncertainty. They should provide necessary space for the aircraft parking and warehouse to deal with cargo traffic. These components should be designed to accommodate future expansion and maintain the existing infrastructure. Ted Stevens Anchorage should develop its air cargo potential by focusing on its air express and air freight. They should also remove trade barriers and start trading with more countries. They should also have simplified customs procedures so it will be less time consuming. They should give carriers more flexible operating rights and air cargo growth will be simulated.