Graeme Ferguson, currently Head of Legal and an Operations Board Director at London Stansted Airport, has been appointed as the new Cargo Director for the Manchester Airports Group (MAG), the owner and operator of the airports of London-Stansted, Manchester, East Midlands and Bournemouth.
Graeme (pictured left) already holds a number
of key airline relationships and has extensive
experience in commercial deals, legal,
regulatory and property services.
In his new role, he will focus on developing the
cargo side of the business across four airports
which handle in excess of 600,000 tonnes
annually.
Graeme replaces John Froggatt, who after 30
years with the business is retiring from his role
as Cargo and Commercial Bid Director for MAG.
He will be leaving at the end of November.
Graeme said:
“MAG has a proven track record in developing successful cargo operations and the acquisition of London-Stansted, one of the largest freight hubs in the UK that transports around 240,000 tonnes annually, has brought about a renewed focus for the group and I’m looking forward to driving this area of the business.
“My first priority will be to meet and engage with both existing and new freight operators, to better understand their business needs and identify ways in which we can work with them to grow and expand their UK operations across MAG’s airports.”
In terms of the airports within the group, East Midlands is already the UK’s largest dedicated freight and mail hub behind London Heathrow and handles 296,000 tonnes of cargo per annum. It’s the UK hub for companies such as DHL, TNT and UPS, and is a main air hub for Royal Mail. It has 24-hour operations with no slot restrictions and five airside cargo terminals that offer over 650,000 sq ft of undercover cargo processing space.
London-Stansted handles 240,000 tonnes of freight per annum and is a key gateway to London and the South of England. Stansted is the UK cargo hub for International Airlines Group (IAG) Cargo and FedEx, and provides a vital gateway to serve the ‘late London market’ for express carriers such as UPS & TNT, as well as the Royal Mail. Every day Stansted handles more than 30 pure cargo aircraft ranging from Beechcraft to B747-8F and AN124 aircraft types.
Manchester Airport handles around 100,000 tonnes of freight per annum at present and is home to the World Freight Terminal, a purpose built site that offers service providers in the air cargo and logistics supply chain easy access to the airfield. Work has already commenced on the new World Logistics Hub, part of the wider £800m Airport City project. With a population of almost 7 million inhabitants and 230,000 companies, the economy of the North West of England is larger than some European countries and is another reason why customers choose to base themselves at the UK’s third largest airport.
Bournemouth Airport is a cargo hub ideally situated to serve the South of England and the airport is already a major spoke for Royal Mail and regional newspaper operations to and from the Channel Islands. Bournemouth’s Aviation Business Park comprises 80 hectares of land and buildings allocated for employment uses adjacent to the airport.
Ken O’Toole, Chief Commercial Officer for MAG, said:
“Cargo plays a vital role for MAG, and one which will increase as we develop the UK’s first Airport City. We have an existing strong market proposition with East Midlands and Manchester. With our acquisition of London Stansted this year, we believe we can increase the number of cargo operators and routes available, further developing Stansted as a key entry point to London and the East of England.”