Philadelphia International Airport Is Investing $90M in Hopes of Becoming the East Coast’s ‘Premier Cargo Airport’

Philadelphia International Airport is nearly tripling its air cargo facility footprint in a move it hopes will put it on the map as the “premier cargo airport on the East Coast,” the travel hub’s leadership said on a Tuesday webinar about the plans, the Philadelphia Business Journal reports.

The expansion will add 136 acres to PHL’s air cargo capability and offerings, bumping up its cargo building area from 600,000 square feet to 1.4 million square feet. Cruxes of PHL’s proposed plan also include adding upward of 5 million square feet of taxiway to accommodate increased cargo-focused aircraft operations, which would primarily occur overnight or during evenings; adding about 20 cargo aircraft parking positions and 10 additional overnight aircraft parking spots; and installing more loading docks. An additional 15-acre parcel could also potentially be developed for cargo purposes.

Those additions will put PHL on par with the largest cargo facilities in the United States and should be able to service the cargo industry’s growing needs for the next 25 years, said Stephanie Wear, director of air service development and cargo services. The airport already has the second largest UPS hub in the delivery company's U.S. system behind Louisville, noted Jim Tyrrell, chief revenue officer at PHL.