Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (HACTL), Hong Kong’s major independent cargo handler, has been awarded the contract to provide ramp handling for Kentucky-based freighter operator Southern Air Inc.

In a statement, HACTL said Southern Air - a wholly-owned subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings - operates 21 rotations per week through Hong Kong, serving Anchorage, Cincinnati, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Leipzig, Milan, Sharjah, Bahrain and Seoul. All Southern Air Hong Kong services use B777 freighters, most of whose space is allocated to DHL Express.

“We are very pleased to extend our responsibilities for Southern Air to include ramp operations. This enables us to provide them with the enhanced efficiency of a seamless terminal- and ramp-handling service – just as we now do for over 40 other freighter operators in Hong Kong,” said HACTL executive director Vivien Lau.

HACTL noted that it is the only cargo handler in Hong Kong that provides combined terminal- and ramp-handling for freighter operators.

Freighter ramp handling is one of the fastest-growing aspects of the company’s business; customers for the service include all 5 of the express and integrator carriers operating into Hong Kong.