Modernizing Air Cargo Operations and Infrastructure at U.S. Airports

The objective of this research is to develop a guidebook for airports of all types and sizes to help modernize their airport cargo facilities, processes, and operations in coordination with a variety of stakeholders. The guidebook should address the optimization of a multimodal approach to facilitate the flow of commerce and the movement of goods in coordination with on- and off-airport facilities and services, while considering constraints of surrounding local or regional transportation systems on cargo.  The guidebook should include, but not limited to, the following considerations:   (1) Best practices in data collection to assist with cargo forecasting and on-going operations; (2) Determining the proportionate required land on or off-airport to support air cargo; (3) Planning for specialized handling and storage facilities (e.g., critical care needs, perishables, etc.); (4) How emerging technologies may impact future cargo operations and facilities (e.g., autonomous vehicles, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), blockchain, databanks, Internet of Things (IoT), etc.); (5) Emerging security technologies and related protocols; (6) Role of freight forwarders and other logistic service providers; (7) Applicability of cargo community systems within trade corridors; (8) Promoting communication and the importance of cargo to stakeholders, airport planners, and overall community planning; (9) Systemic constraints and opportunities in megaregions and their effects on cargo; (7) The latest design trends on multi-story facilities and their potential to alleviate land availability concerns; (8) Opportunities and barriers to integrate sustainable features into cargo facility development and operations, including subsequent cost savings (e.g., transportation electrification, zero net energy facilities, etc.); (9) International facility benchmarking; and (10) Financing alternatives for cargo development.

• Record URL:
  http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5029

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $350000
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 03-63

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Airport Cooperative Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC    20001

  Federal Aviation Administration

  800 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20591
• Project Managers:

  Schatz, Theresia

• Performing Organizations:

  SASI World

  Marco Island, Florida  United States 
• Principal Investigators:

  Diamond, Mark

• Start Date: 20210729
• Expected Completion Date: 20230128
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air cargo; Air cargo terminals; Airport operations; Airports; Best practices; Financing; Infrastructure; Modernization; Multimodal transportation; Optimization
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Freight Transportation; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01748069
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 03-63
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Aug 17 2020 3:04PM