A.P. Moller - Maersk (Maersk) has inaugurated a new 123,000-square-foot air freight gateway near Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport (ATL) that offers direct planeside recovery with immediate unit load device (ULD) transfers to the new facility.

"Maersk is strengthening our promise to customers of integrated, end-to-end logistics solutions by growing our air freight services in a strategic transportation hub. Our Atlanta facility enhances our offering, providing customers with superior supply chain flexibility supported by our expanded regional capabilities in warehousing and transportation. We will be able to leverage this connectivity to bolster our air freight network across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the world,” said John Wetherell, Regional Head of Air Freight, North America.

Atlanta is one of the most important commercial, financial, and transportation centers of the southeastern United States. Over 75 percent of the Fortune 1000 companies have a presence in the Atlanta area, and the region hosts offices of about 1,250 multinational corporations.

Located in Atlanta Tradeport's Foreign Trade Zone, the new air cargo facility enjoys lower duties, reduced processing fees, and quicker movement of goods from the port of Savannah. The site is located just two miles from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and has direct access to interstates I-75 and I-285.

The facility is ideal for local and regional distribution and is in close proximity to access commercial carrier capacity. The site will act as a forward staging facility for our Greenville, South Carolina own controlled flight operations – from which we operate five B74F return Maersk flights per week to Hahn, Germany, and two B76F flights per week to Shenyang, China, with onward connection to Seoul, Korea.

The new facility has 39 dock doors, two oversized drive-up ramps, and is a Bonded Container Freight Station (CFS) with U.S. Customs. In addition, it operates as a U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Certified Cargo Screening Facility (CCSF) to ensure timely, secure handling of air freight. This enables priority handling of both import and export airline ULDs.

The new Atlanta facility builds on several initiatives designed to bolster Maersk’s air freight services in North America. The company recently opened a new Chicago air freight gateway facility to add more supply chain integration opportunities for customers using Chicago O’Hare International and Rockford International.

Prior to that, Maersk also launched a new air freight service with regular flights between South Carolina, Korea, and China operated by Miami-headquartered cargo airline Amerijet International.