Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has increased its facility footprint at London Heathrow Airport by 27,000sq ft.

The company has signed a five-year lease on Building 578 in the airport’s cargo area, boosting its warehouse and office space.

WFS said the move was in response to a 30 per cent growth in volumes in the past year.

The building is due to commence operations in October, and features eight landside doors for cargo deliveries and collections, and a 20ft truck dock. As well as caster deck storage for loaded pallets and containers, WFS said it also planned to install a 7,000sq ft area for ambient shipments and dedicated storage for temperature-controlled cargoes requiring a 2-8°C environment.

Once the new facility opens, WFS will increase its total cargo handling space at the airport to nearly 350,000sq ft. This latest expansion is designed to support existing airline customers – including new contracts gained in the past 12 months with Sri Lankan Airlines, Gulf Air and All Nippon Airways. The additional building will also provide growth capacity.

“After strong growth in our tonnage throughput in 2021, and with cargo volumes expected to increase by a further 25 per cent this year, it’s important that we are proactive in ensuring we have the capacity and infrastructure our current airline customers need to support their products and services,” said WFS’ managing director – UK cargo Paul Carmody.

“A key focus for Building 578 is to expand our perishables handling capabilities. This investment also gives us more space to welcome new carriers, which we expect to do by the end of the year.”