Heavier aircraft loads and greater FedEx shipping activity accelerated Fort Worth Alliance Airport operations in 2015, according to officials with the world’s first industrial airport.
The volume of cargo moved through the far north Fort Worth facility saw a year-over-year increase of 8.6 percent, with the airport also reporting 263,328,944 pounds of cargo loaded and unloaded in the same year compared to 243,231,605 pounds in 2014.
FedEx constituted a majority of the cargo being shipped through the airport, officials said.
“The increased amount of cargo making its way through Fort Worth Alliance Airport reinforces our role as a major economic driver for the region, and we anticipate that the runway expansion project that broke ground last year will further increase our capacity,” said Tom Harris, president of Alliance Air/Aviation Services for Hillwood, commenting in a news release.
Because economists often monitor FexEx, UPS and other major shippers to determine the health of the local economy, Harris said the airport’s cargo figures demonstrate that North Texas has a strong economy.
“We believe this growth also indicates that more logistics companies are taking full advantage of all of the services offered through the Alliance Global Logistics Hub,” Harris said.
Aircraft traffic also experienced a slight increase of 1.72 percent between 2014 and 2015, according to the latest numbers. Total aircraft operations grew from 115,514 in 2014 to 117,499 in 2015.
In response to such growth in recent years, the airport is expanding the runways at the north end of the property.
Construction to expand runways 16R/34, 16L/34R and Taxiway A to 11,000 feet began last year, with Runway 16R/34L expected to reach completion in December 2016. The second runway, 16L/34R, is expected be reach completion in late 2017.
Hillwood officials said the runway expansion project will continue to increase the airport’s cargo capacity by providing greater flight capabilities and enabling long-haul flights to take off fully fueled under almost any weather conditions.
More information about Fort Worth Alliance Airport, which anchors the 18,000-acre AllianceTexas development, is available at www.allianceairport.com.