Amazon Air Hub has begun operations at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport – serving as the central hub for Amazon Air’s US cargo network.

The facility has opened after more than four years of planning and construction and a US$1.5 billion investment.

“We’re excited to get rolling in Northern Kentucky, and we’re thrilled to employ thousands of fantastic people from the area in this next-generation, highly sophisticated facility that will connect our air cargo network for years to come,” said Amazon Global Air’s vice president Sarah Rhoads.

The 800,000sq ft sortation building sits on an over 600-acre campus that features seven buildings, an expansive new ramp for aircraft parking, and a multi-story vehicle parking structure.

The sortation facility is equipped with robotics technology that helps move and sort packages – including robotic arms and mobile drive units that transport packages across the building – miles of interlinked conveyors and ergonomic workstations. The building will also feature a solar rooftop scheduled for installation over the next year, and all energy generated from the panels will feed directly into the electrical grid of the local community.

“The Amazon Air Hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport will make Kentucky the undisputed national leader in air cargo,” said Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. “In addition to creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs, this hub puts Kentucky at the centre of Amazon’s US distribution network.

“Across the coming years, Amazon Air will help attract more manufacturers, service providers, and tech companies to Kentucky seeking to take similar advantage of our key geographic location. Congratulations and thanks to Amazon for this monumental investment in our state and workforce. We look forward to continuing the commonwealth’s longstanding and successful partnership with Amazon for decades to come.”