ANCHORAGE: August 08, 2018. The Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) reports a 5.2 percent rise in air cargo volumes to 1.34 million tonnes for the first six months of 2018 compared to the same period last year.

"Anchorage Airport’s strategic location gives air cargo operators the ability to fly fully loaded aircraft between Asia, the United States, Europe and Latin America," said airport manager Jim Szczesniak. "You can fly a fully loaded freighter to Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Mexico City, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt from Anchorage. This one location provides you global access.”

Some 22 major air cargo airlines and nine domestic carriers connect via ANC to 11 major cities in Asia and 18 in North America, generating over US$1 billion in annual economic impact for the city of Anchorage.

Special air cargo transfer rights allow the airlines to transfer cargo between aircraft at ANC in the same way passengers make a connection at a hub airport.

“We are seeing air cargo customers utilize these special transfer rights to increase the efficiency of their networks and that gives them the ability to open new markets. We are also seeing a lot of growth and interest in using ANC as a connection point between Asia and Latin America,” explained Szczesniak.

ANC is the world’s fifth busiest air cargo airport supporting 150 widebody freighter flights a day including “significant operations” from UPS, FedEx and DHL.

“The Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport continues to be a strong performer in Alaska’s economy,” noted Alaska governor Bill Walker. “We highly value the central role that Anchorage plays in transpacific air cargo. As we continue to strengthen our relationships in Asia we will keep working hard for continued growth at ANC.”