Another milestone was surpassed at Halifax Stanfield in 2017, with 34,051 tonnes of cargo processed at the airport, an increase of 2.2 per cent over the record set the previous year. This is the fourth consecutive year of cargo volume growth at the region’s air gateway.
The Canadian dollar value of cargo exports was close to $446 million, up 10.2 per cent over the previous year, an increase of over $41 million. High demand, high value seafood products, including Nova Scotia’s world-famous lobster, account for approximately half of the value of all exports shipped, valued at $220 million and equating to 10,234 tonnes.
“With the recently ratified CETA agreement, demand for Nova Scotia seafood continues to grow in Europe. We also continue to see strong growth in Asia, particularly for live lobster exports,” says Bert van der Stege, Halifax International Airport Authority (HIAA) Chief Commercial Officer. “In fact, China is our top market for live Nova Scotia lobster, with the volume of exports to this country increasing by 63 per cent over the previous year, double the average growth of all export destination countries.”
Continued demand for exports from the region, particularly those of a time- sensitive nature including fresh seafood product, will require further investment in the airport’s facilities. “Our role as an airport authority is to facilitate the efficient and timely transportation of our region’s exports to global markets,” van der Stege further commented. “When you consider that every Boeing 777 freighter that departs our airport contributes $1.5 million to our local economy, we realize the important role we play as an economic enabler for our region’s growth.”
Last fall, a funding application was submitted by HIAA to the federal government under the National Trade Corridors Fund (NTCF). If successful, this financial support will allow the airport to continue its growth and support of the cargo logistics chain through the development of a proposed Air Cargo Logistics Park. If realized, the project will create jobs, enhance transportation infrastructure, improve cargo handling, increase trade, and expand international capacity to foster exports.
Located beside the existing cargo facility, the new Halifax Stanfield Air Cargo Logistics Park would include expanded facilities for ground handling and warehousing services as well as additional space for aircraft parking. This would be accomplished by working with a private developer to develop approximately 25 acres of new, fully-serviced airside lands.
Other high value commodities shipped from Halifax Stanfield include industrial machinery, aircraft and spacecraft parts, optic, photo, medical and surgical instruments, electrical machinery, and pharmaceutical products.
In 2017, air carriers transporting goods from Halifax Stanfield included Air Canada, ASL Airlines, Atlas Air, Cargojet, DHL, FedEx, Korean Air Cargo, National Air Cargo Group, Qatar Airways Cargo, WestJet, and Yangtze River Airlines/ Suparna.