Siemens to expand KAIA air cargo center

June 06, 2018: Siemens Postal, Parcel & Airport Logistics (SPPAL) has received an order to expand and modernize the air freight center at King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The terminal belongs to Saudi Airlines Cargo Company (SACC).

Siemens is equipping the terminal with state-of-the-art cargo logistics and intelligent software for a considerable increase in capacity. The contract also covers long-term maintenance of the systems. The first phase of the project commences in June 2018 and is expected to end by November 2019 while the second phase begins from June 2020 and ends on December 2021.

"Our decades of experience and our know-how in air cargo logistics enable SACC to maintain minimum ground handling times," said Michael Reichle, CEO of Siemens Postal, Parcel & Airport Logistics. "As a result, we support the airline’s efforts to further increase its competitiveness."

"The 75,000-square-metre cargo handling facility has double area of the current one, estimated at 35,000 square metres. The as per the implementation plan," explained Omar Hariri, CEO, Saudia Cargo.

In Jeddah, Siemens is expanding the cargo capacity at King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in two phases to arrive at a final volume of 820,000 tons per year. Siemens is implementing a fully automated storage system with 700 positions for unit load devices (ULDs) and six elevating transfer vehicles (ETVs). Further, Siemens is setting up a large air-conditioned area with over 170 storage positions for perishable goods in dedicated refrigerated and deep-freeze rooms. The intelligent Siemens software Cargo Compact is responsible for control of the entire warehouse system.