Mapping of the Air Freight Handling at Stockholm Arlanda Airport

Abstract: The main problem with air freight handling at Arlanda is the transportation of freight on airside, that is from the freight terminal to loading process at the aircraft. To approach this problem, a mapping of the physical flow as well as information flow has been made to identify underlying reasons to this problem. This has been the purpose of the study.The mapping has also facilitated the possibilities to identify improvements in the air freight handling process. To give a recommendation of what these improvements could be was the objective of the study.The underlying reasons for the main problem were identified. These causes were space restrictions on the apron, traffic congestion, and lack of freight storage areas by the gates. This aggravates the possibility to prepare freight for each flight departure. The recommendations to Swedavia are long-term measures that should be further explored. These recommendations regard total cost analysis of using fridge containers, co-owned ground handling equipment, IT possibilities,and comparison to other airports.