Italy-headquartered BCUBE Air Cargo will be the second air cargo handler at Ostend Airport, alongside the former Aviapartner. General Manager BCUBE Air Cargo Mauro Grisafi is convinced
his company will attract new customers to the airport. Refurbishing the airport leading to a root-and-branch reform is another major task he announced.
We spoke with Mr Grifasi right after BCUBE inked the Ostend deal.
Interview
CFG: Why Ostend, Mr Grisafi?
MG: Over the last 12 to 18 months we feel that the situation of airports in Northern and Central Europe is getting more and more complex. Big hubs like Brussels, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and even
Liege are getting more and more crowded. For airlines and GSA’s there is a lot of management complexity involved. In our opinion there are plenty of opportunities for the development of services
at ‘2nd level’ airports.
Ostend is a greenfield project that might offer those opportunities to airlines and we think this is actually the challenge we have accepted, as the main hubs will become more congested.
Ostend Airport has tried to attract new clients for some years. Why would BCUBE succeed where OST has failed?
I do not want to make any judgment, but the airport was not able to provide the right services. In my opinion they did not have the right infrastructure, equipment and motivated people. We will
introduce a refurbished system. Our equipment for ramp handling is between one and two years old. We will be able to provide new services to potential new customers and we can always look back on
our previous experience. It will be a new start and a new life for the airport.
CFG: Ostend Airport has tried to attract new clients for some years. Why would BCUBE succeed where OST has failed?
I do not want to make any judgment, but the airport was not able to provide the right services. In my opinion they did not have the right infrastructure, equipment and motivated people. We will
introduce a refurbished system. Our equipment for ramp handling is between one and two years old. We will be able to provide new services to potential new customers and we can always look back on
our previous experience. It will be a new start and a new life for the airport.
CFG: The main money makers in the air cargo industry are perishables, pharma an e-commerce. OST has neither pharma nor e-commerce.
We are able to handle everything. It’s only a matter of getting started. We can build the process together with our customers. Besides, the perishables product in OST is very strong. And we have
a very strong service portfolio in Italy.
CFG: Which potential customers are you talking to?
We are discussing with several customers to start operations in OST. We want to attract both airlines that are already serving neighbouring airports as well as companies that fly elsewhere in
Europe. We can offer a lot of opportunities to customers who want specific services. China, for one, is an interesting market.
CFG: Are the Chinese airlines not sufficiently accommodated in Liege, Brussels and Amsterdam?
Not all of them are. The demand is very strong. They need chances to grow. The same goes for the Middle East.
We are launching warehousing and airside handling services with the aim of attracting new business for the airport, in which we will make use of the large potential of the airport and its
geographical location. The services will be developed on apron 1 in a recently renovated and fully equipped 4,000 m² warehouse. We will deploy brand new Ground Support Equipment for this project.
These were the core statements delivered by BCUBE manager Mauro Grifasi.
Further to this it is worthwhile to know that the integrated logistics group BCUBE was founded in 1952 and has 117 subsidiaries both in Italy and abroad. In Italy BCUBE Air Cargo handles 330,000
tonnes of cargo and 18,000 tonnes of mail (2018).
The company is active at the airports of Rome Fiumicino, Venice Tessera (Marco Polo), Milan Malpensa and Milan Linate. The B3 dubbed BCUBE claims to be the third company worldwide to have been
granted an IATA CEIV certification. However, for the air cargo business, Ostend is the first investment outside Italy, Mr Grisafi confirms.
Marcel Schoeters
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