Iberia and Spainish Airport Authority invest €100 Million into new cargo terminal at Madrid

Iberia's chairman Antonio Vázquez, and the head of Spain's national airport and traffic control authority Aena, Juan Ignacio Lema, today signed an agreement to build a new Iberia cargo terminal at the Madrid-Barajas airport. Publics Works and Development Minister José Blanco attended the signing.

Iberia will spend 60 million euros and Aena will spend 40 million euros to build the new facility, which will ensure capacity for the future growth of air cargo. It will make the Madrid-Barajas airport Europe's largest hub for air cargo to and from Latin America.

The 39,000-sq.m. terminal will stand on a 92,000 sq.m. site between runways 15 and 33 and near the apron of the T4 satellite building that is used for most Latin American flights. The new feasibility will substantially reduce aircraft loading and unloading times, while boosting the efficiency and quality of Iberia's air cargo handling services at the airport.

Strong Growth

In 2010 the Madrid-Barajas cargo terminal handled more that 373,000 tonnes of freight, a 23.3% increase from the previous year. Of this total, Iberia shipped more than 175,000 tonnes,  or 47%. The new terminal is expected to lead to strong growth in Iberia's cargo handling business in the 2015-2030 period, tripling the 175,000 tonnes to some 650,000 tonnes by 2030.

The commissioning of the new terminal in 2015 is expected to create 400 direct jobs and up to another 1,000 indirect ones in such services as customs, security services, ground transportation, etc. as well as in other services such as health, hospitality, and retail.

The project will be handled by Aena's Clasa unit, responsible for development and management of airport logistical operations to ensure the efficiency and quality of freight handling operations at all Spanish airports.

The New Cargo Complex at Madrid-Barajas

More than 200 logistics and transportation companies and related firms are located in the 60-hectare air cargo complex at the Madrid-Barajas airport, in the heart of the Madrid region's industrial district,

where they have access to advanced technologies and infrastructures for the movement and storage of freight.