Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has increased its facility footprint at London's Heathrow Airport after a 30% growth in volumes in the past year.

WFS has signed a five-year lease on Building 578 in the airport's cargo area, boosting its warehouse and office space by a further 27,000 sq. ft.

In a statement, WFS noted that the additional building, due to commence operations in October, features eight landside doors for cargo deliveries and collections, and a 20-foot truck dock.

As well as caster deck storage for loaded pallets and containers, WFS also plans to install a 7,000 sq. 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 350,000 sq. ft.

WFS said 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% 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 Paul Carmody, WFS' managing director – UK Cargo.  

"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," Carmody added.

Aside from this, WFS currently provides cargo handling services for 16 international airlines at Heathrow, handling over 425,000 tonnes of freight, airmail and express shipments through seven warehouse facilities.