First Air applies for Canadian cargo expansion funding

In partnership with the Ottawa Airport Authority and Aeroterm, Canadian carrier First Air filed two applications with Canada’s National Trade Corridors Fund (NTCF) for the expansion of its cargo facilities in Ottawa and Iqaluit.

The first proposal addresses cargo capacity issues at First Air’s Ottawa International Airport (YOW) facilities by adding to First Air’s warehousing and refrigeration capacity, while aiming to modernize technology at the airport to reduce cargo spoilage and shipment delays.

First Air’s application to the NTCF asks for half of the C$17.5 million project price. As part of the project, Ottawa’s Airport Authority proposes realigning Alert Road at the airport as part of the expansion of First Air’s current maintenance hangar, located along Alert Road east of the airport. Aeroterm, which manages Ottawa’s FedEx operations, would also take over First Air’s cargo warehouse. If the project is funded, it could commence as early as this year, and continue through 2020 or 2021.

The carrier’s second proposal is estimated at around C$17 million and would expand First Air’s cargo facilities at its eastern Arctic hub, Iqaluit. The expansion would add a larger warehouse that would include modernized inventory management and delivery systems, expanded refrigeration capacity and radio frequency identification (RFID) compatibility, and would integrate green technology into the facility’s design.

If it is funded, construction on the Iqaluit expansion would also begin during 2018.