Hong Kong provides Ohio's Rickenbacker Airport with 18pc cargo boost

HONG KONG has been credited with the 18.1 per cent air freight year-on-year increase to 12.8 million pounds at Ohio's Rickenbacker Airport, reports the Columbus Dispatch.

"We've been getting freight from Hong Kong for many years, but it was always intermittent and not as reliable," said David Whitaker, vice president of business development for the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, which oversees Port Columbus and Rickenbacker airports.

"Most air freight, including what comes to Rickenbacker, is high-value items that manufacturers want to get to market quickly," said Mr Whitaker.

"Examples include electronics such as smart phones and computers, perishables and some fashion apparel," he said,

The cargo operations of UPS are up 23.6 per cent for the year, and FedEx is up 20.2 per cent.

One of the keys to the improvement is Kalitta Air, a Michigan-based carrier that has been making three flights a week from Hong Kong to Rickenbacker since August. Kalitta handled 7.6 million pounds through June, a 104 per cent increase.

"Their flights schedules here are essentially the same, so their volumes have improved," Mr Whitaker said of Rickenbacker's two largest freight haulers.

Despite the gains, he said the airport is not yet a major player in freight operations, "but we're working hard to change that."

Rickenbacker handled 66,000 tonnes 2011, though passenger traffic was flat, totalling 3.2 million people, up one per cent year on year.