IAG Cargo launches emergency shipment service

Meanwhile, at its London Heathrow hub, IAG Cargo is establishing a new freight facility, which is set to commence operations in 2018 and will be twice the size of its existing Premia facility at the airport.    IAG Cargo said Thursday it is launching a new emergency shipment service called Critical, and also unveiled its plans for a new freight facility at its London Heathrow hub.
   Launching Oct. 3, Critical will provide the airfreight market with an emergency product that ensures critical shipments are both intensely monitored and guaranteed to fly, the company said.
   “The product is bespoke to the emergency shipment market, exclusively designed for time urgent shipments, which often have significant cost implications if they don’t arrive on time,” IAG Cargo said.
   The service will be available across IAG Cargo’s entire network of over 350 destinations.
   Several businesses have signed up for the carrier’s new service, ranging from aerospace to high tech sectors.
   “We understand the pressure our freight forwarders and supply chain partners come under when a customer demands that a shipment must move that day,” IAG Cargo Commercial Director David Shepherd said. “Until now, we have not had a product that fully satisfies this unique need, with short cut off times and non-off loadable status, we can now meet the exact demands for shipments that simply must fly.”
   Meanwhile, IAG Cargo’s new freight facility at London Heathrow will operate alongside the company’s existing Premia facility at the airport and is expected to commence operations in 2018.
   The new facility will be twice the size of the Premia facility, providing a larger dedicated Constant Climate Quality Center for pharmaceuticals, new delivery and collection doors, and an advanced warehouse management system that will prioritize freight.
   IAG Cargo said, “The new building will manage the flow-through of all express Prioritise shipments and passive Constant Climate shipments.”
   “IAG Cargo’s four airlines now carry more premium freight than at any point in their combined history,” IAG Cargo CEO Drew Crawley said. “With the continued growth of high speed e-commerce and cool chain logistics in particular, as well as the ongoing expansion of the IAG family and network, we need facilities that are ready for the next generation of premium freight.”