A new lucrative piece of business will fall to Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) after having signed an MOU with Norways Sjomatterminalen AS which will allow WFS to operate the new Seafood Center planned for Oslo Airport.
State-of- the art facility
Once completed, the facility will be able to handle up to 250,000 tons of seafood annually. Seafood, especially salmon, is now probably Norway’s largest export commodity with 230,000 tons
expected to be moved out of the country in 2018.
The brand-new Seafood Center will be equipped with state-of-the-art handling and temperature control equipment. Oslo Airport now claims to be the largest freighter airport in Northern Europe and
can count fourteen cargo airlines which operate there, mainly for the pickup of fresh seafood and the movement of oil and gas machinery. In 2017 the airport recorded a 36% growth in air cargo
with 185,000 tons moved, of which 90,000 tons was seafood.
Worldwide demand grows
Norway has invested huge sums in setting up fish farms across the country. The salmon production which is mainly for export has grown in leaps and bounds during the past decade. It is no wonder
that 14 all cargo flights are handled at Oslo to cater for the worldwide demand. It is essential that seafood arrives at its final destination just as fresh as when it was packed. Special
containers have been developed for this purpose so that consumers from Tokyo to Sydney or Cape Town can enjoy fresh seafood on their plates the day after it leaves Norway.
As the demand grows, Oslo Airport has for the past two years been considering how to better cater for the ever-increasing demand. In this respect the idea for a brand-new Seafood Center was born
and with its annual capacity of 250,000 tons, the facility will allow for speedier, better and increased temperature controlled handling for the coming years. If there happens to be a further
increase in demand, then the Oslo planners will surely look seriously at expanding the new facility.
John Mc Donagh
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