The three-year contract extension will see WFS continue to provide Etihad Cargo with warehouse and cargo handling services at New York’s JFK and Washington Dulles International airport in the US, Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok, as well as key European hubs at London Heathrow, Paris-Charles De Gaulle and Brussels airport. Cumulatively, these six airports handle in excess of 120,000 tonnes of Etihad Cargo air cargo annually.
In November 2019, the WFS handling portfolio grew to include Etihad Cargo’s Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas operation and, from February 15, 2020, WFS will also begin services at Frankfurt airport.
Andre Blech, Head of Operations and Service Delivery at Etihad Cargo, said: “In-line with our commitment to provide service-level excellence and best practices across all stations, the addition of Frankfurt and Madrid to our existing framework WFS further evidences our growing and mutually beneficial collaboration.”
Barry Nassberg, Group Chief Commercial Officer of WFS, added: “Our global handling framework with Etihad Cargo means WFS is fully engaged with the airline at a corporate level and able to proactively support its drive for the very best cargo and ground handling services. It also demonstrates we have a fully committed, long-term partner which values our handling expertise and is looking to us for innovative and efficient ways to help their business grow.”
The framework will see a renewed focus on Etihad Cargo’s premium products, including temperature sensitive cargo. Alongside IATA CEIV certifications in pharmaceutical and perishables handling, Etihad Cargo’s partnership with WFS enhances its end-to-end cool-chain solutions at Paris and Brussels, where WFS also holds CEIV accreditations for its warehouse operations.
WFS also serves Etihad Airways, providing passenger handling services at JFK, Chicago O’Hare International airport and Suvarnabhumi, which have also been extended under the framework agreement.
