News / PIK leading the charge to remap UK regional air cargo landscape

@Stewart Marshall

News that another freighter operator has signed-up to serve Glasgow Prestwick (PIK) marks another mutation in a changing UK air cargo landscape. 

Yesterday, Beijing Capital Airlines, operating a Jiangxi Cargo Airlines’ A330-200P2F, landed in Glasgow from Zhengzhou, the first of a four-times-a-week service.

Inbound shipments are expected to be ecommerce and general cargo, with spare capacity sold, while outbound, Scottish salmon and whisky will fly to China, along with other premium and high-value products. 

However, salmon is currently “a challenge”, according to one source, due to summer sea lice, which has led to increased inspections in China, but it is a seasonal issue and expected to be resolved soon. Salmon shippers have welcomed the direct flight, which gives them a further 12 to 18 hours of shelf life in China. 

It is the third cargo airline to choose the airport in the past six months. It now hosts Cargolux, which has actually cut flights to the airport by some 30% this year over last – but is still the largest provider of capacity – as well as China Southern and Air France KLM, which are the second largest capacity providers at the airport, followed by Air China. It also has seen capacity from National Air Cargo and Silk Way.

Widebody freighter moves have gone up more than 40% this year over last, according to Rotate. It is remarkable growth from 2,300 tonnes of capacity in January, to more than 6,000 now – almost all of the extra coming since May. 

PIK outbound capacity. Source: Rotate Live Capacity Database

And there is more to come. “We are heading into the peak of ecommerce season and we will see some additional charters by default,” said Nico Le Roux, PIK’s business development director. “Our country director in China, Colin Dai, is in advanced discussions with carriers that will see us make more schedule increases before Christmas. This will boost the scheduled services from 11 a week.”

Part of the growth is due to a £1m investment in cool chain infrastructure to boost seafood exports, alongside a further £2m in cold chain last year.

Ian Forgie, CEO of the airport, said last month: “The value of Scottish salmon exports reached a record £844m in 2024, with the Chinese market growing by 60% in value and 107% in volume. Our in-house expertise coupled with our significant investment makes PIK a standout hub for the Scottish seafood industry and we are prepared to meet growing demand.” 

It also sees oil and gas project cargo, event cargo and markets itself as the top UK hub for dangerous goods. 

The airport also has 24/7 operations, with customs pre-clearance while in the air, and a dedicated ecommerce warehouse along with a partnership with both Evri and Royal Mail. It also has live horse facilities, and temperature-controlled facilities for pharma. 

But it is not the only regional UK airport seeing growth: at the opposite end of the country, Bournemouth (BOH), hub to European Cargo, has seen 16% growth in widebody capacity this year – but has only one airline, and the growth trajectory is not as smooth as at Glasgow.

But this week, Cargo First announced  the completion and commissioning of major new cargo handling facilities at BOH, including three new widebody stands, a larger Customs-bonded area and new landside works.

The airport said it had handled a record 31,000 tonnes of freight in the 12 months to March, ranking Bournemouth eighth among the UK’s airfreight airports – a 70% improvement on the prior year. In the same period, it’s estimated that Glasgow saw 10,500 tonnes, but that has increased since March. 

BOH outbound capacity. Source: Rotate Live Capacity Database

“Growth has been driven by booming ecommerce imports and growing exports, with high-value UK-manufactured goods becoming an increasingly important part of the mix,” noted Cargo First. 

Both new-contender airports, despite impressive growth figures, have some way to go to catch up with the UK’s other cargo-focused airports in volume terms.  But they are certainly starting to make a splash.