Rockford airport to add jobs after landing deal with international cargo services company
The world’s largest aviation services provider will expand its U.S. cargo operations to the Chicago Rockford International Airport beginning this summer, airport officials said.
The Greater Rockford Airport Authority signed a 10-year lease agreement with London-based Menzies Aviation during the authority’s Jan. 26 meeting.
Under terms of the agreement, which begins June 1, Menzies Aviation will occupy RFD’s International Cargo Center and provide cargo and freighter handling services to chartered and scheduled flights.
Menzies Aviation’s presence at RFD is expected to create up to 70 additional jobs at the airport, including cargo service agents, cargo clerical operations agents, ramp workers, load masters and leadership positions.
“The Menzies investment in Chicago Rockford International Airport is testament to our airport infrastructure and the efficiencies that can be achieved in air cargo outside of the large passenger hub airports," RFD executive director Mike Dunn said in a news release.
Dunn said the airport has invested more than $200 million in air cargo operations over the past eight years.
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“We have agreed to a long-term lease with RFD to occupy a state-of-the-art facility that includes pharmaceutical handling capabilities,” Menzies Aviation Executive Vice President of Cargo Robert Fordee said. “With direct airside access, we will provide cargo and freighter handling to chartered and scheduled flights by the middle of this year and we will be hiring a team to run our operations in the coming months.”
Menzies Aviation was founded in 1833 and has 35,000 employees working at more than 250 airports in 58 countries.
The Chicago Rockford International Airport is currently ranked as the 14th largest airport in the U.S. for air cargo with more than 3.4 billion pounds of landed weight in 2022.
Ken DeCoster covers business news and features. Contact him at 815-987-1391, kdecoster@rrstar.com or @DeCosterKen.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Menzies Aviation expands to Chicago Rockford International Airport
