Atlanta, Georgia-USA based United Parcel Service (UPS) which operates an impressive fleet of cargo aircraft and modern parcels delivery trucks worldwide, has steadily been growing their global business further over the past decade. Now established as one of the most well-known and successful parcel delivery companies worldwide, UPS continues to expand.
A new hangar for better aircraft maintenance
A new hangar which will cost around US$220 million is being planned for construction at the UPS Worldport parcels sorting centre in Louisville, Kentucky. The 26,000 sqm facility is needed for
speedy and professional line maintenance of the UPS aircraft fleet which in future will mainly be made up of B747 and B767 freighters. The carrier has a backlog of almost fifty new B747/767Fs on
order with Boeing and as the fleet grows, so does the need for on-the-spot maintenance facilities.
The new aircraft maintenance hangar which will be large enough to handle two B747-8 freighters simultaneously will be built on leased land which is situated just opposite the UPS Worldport
handling area. It is expected to be finished by 2022. The construction will also include updating present cargo ramp and taxiways as well as new office space.
More expansion is planned
UPS has quite a few other expansion projects in the pipeline at Worldport which will entail the company investing up to US$750 million during the coming years. This, they say would enable the
company to create up to 1,000 new jobs at their Louisville hub and enable them to introduce new and better facilities for speedier service for their customers. The parcels service provider
started their Louisville operation on a small scale almost 30 years ago.
FAA approves UPS drone airline
It was revealed at the beginning of October that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given approval to UPS Flight Forward (UPS FF) which is a daughter company of UPS, to operate
their planned drone airline.
The plan is for Flight Forward to start up an own drone-delivery operation in the future. This is subject to various strict FAA stipulations and regulations which would have to be severely
adhered to by the carrier. The initial operations said to be planned around delivery urgent medical supplies to certain outlying areas.
However, there is still a lot to be done before this can become reality.
On the green aspect - UPS also announced that they have placed an order for around 6,000 new trucks which will be powered by natural gas. The trucks which will cost the company in the region of
US$450 million are all expected to be delivered by the end of 2022.
John Mc Donagh
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