If you’ve ever watched a pit stop during a Formula One race, you’ll have witnessed teamwork and preparation come together in a seamless operation that takes mere seconds.

Turning around a hefty freighter aircraft on “a gas and go” stop – as Cargo Services Manager Tammy K Liftee calls them – at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport may take a little longer, but it requires similar skill and coordination. The aim is to turn the plane around, refuelled and recrewed in an hour or so; there are schedules to stick to and important cargo to be delivered.

The eight-strong Cathay Cargo team at Anchorage handles 10 to 15 of these stops in any 24-hour period, and there is a lot to do for each. The team must prepare paperwork and schedule the input of various parties, ranging from Customs, catering and even the the toilet waste-emptying service. This all while staying in touch with the Central Load Control (CLC) team in Los Angeles and the Integrated Operations Centre in Hong Kong – the pulsing brain of the whole Cathay operation.

There is a slight variation in tasks depending on whether the flights are incoming from the “Lower 48” states of the US or from overseas – Hong Kong or Mexico City and Guadalajara. Overseas flights require Customs approvals, along with the disposal of all remaining catering supplies and the separation of interchanging crew, in accordance with immigration rules.

Meeting the aircraft

With preparations in place, the team heads out to meet each arrival and then see it off again. The pit lane analogy works on the ramp too. Cathay Cargo’s freighters park in bays in shared, open area away from the terminal buildings, allowing pilots to move away when ready without pushback. This section of the airfield is kinetic with a steady stream of wide-body freighters moving around, and the near-constant noise of engines winding down and spooling up.

Cargo Services Officer (CSO) Lorraine Bradford is seeing off the departing crew on a flight that will continue south to the Lower 48. She and the Captain stand conversing in the aircraft doorway, the captain in short sleeves, sharing pictures of the evening’s spectacular aurora. “This is not cold,” he says, gesturing at the dark yonder, which is currently clocking in at -12°C. “Fairbanks,” he says, referring to Alaska’s second city 570km north of here and the first diversion point when winter takes too stronger grip here; “Now that really is cold.”

Working on the ramp

Of course, it is cold, and the wintry conditions heighten the potential hazards on the ramp. Overnight, an airport vehicle slid on the icy tarmac into one of the Cathay Cargo team’s airside cars. They seem unfazed by the wintry breeze blowing in through the crumpled rear door and broken window.

Back on board, Bradford is checking the cargo on the main deck to ensure it is secure. “We take pictures of the locks and ensure things haven’t shifted en route,” she says. The photos are uploaded as a live record via the new handheld Cargo Connect app.

The role then is to ensure the new crew have everything they need on board. CSO Colin Romberg checks with the pilots there are enough inflight meals and that crew members’ baggage is secured on the main deck, before relaying the number of bags to the CLC team via phone so they are factored into the final load sheet. This may seem unnecessary on an aircraft carrying up to 130 tonnes of cargo, but as Romberg says, safety comes first: “There are times when 100kg is the difference between an aircraft being in trim or not.”

When the load sheet is finalised, it is delivered to the Captain along with the NOTOC (notification to captain), which outlines any dangerous goods on board and their location, plus any shipments requiring a special hold temperature. Once the Captain is happy, it’s time to disembark, close the door and wait for the aircraft to taxi off.

Unique challenges

Unlike every other port on the Cathay Cargo network, Anchorage is a technical port rather than a revenue one. That’s because there is not much of an export market, save for small volumes of geoducks – large clams that are popular in Asia – when they are in season. The only other Anchorage-specific cargo is aircraft parts, needed when carriers don’t have the spares in their inventory.

Because little loading is required, the Anchorage team allocates one CSO per flight, instead of the usual two. However, this can change when challenges arise. The team’s office is dominated by a screen that displays incoming flights and the estimated time of arrivals. It’s colour-coded: blue is good, red indicates a delay, and yellow denotes an AOG (aircraft on ground), which means a fault needs to be addressed before it can fly on. In 2025, one AOG at Anchorage took 14 days to remedy, which can happen if it’s a bigger job requiring parts that are not in the stores.

For the Cathay Cargo team, it means there’s an aircraft laden with cargo going nowhere, and urgent action must be taken to merge cargo from the grounded aircraft to other planes passing through. “Flights back to Hong Kong are easier, as they’re typically lighter,” says Liftee. Flights bound to the Lower 48, on which space is typically more limited, may require more juggling, or even a full deck swap between the grounded and an empty charter aircraft.

In truth, the team welcomes the challenge. “I like being outside so I enjoy the AOGs,” says CSO Stephanie Pannick. It’s an intellectual as well as a physical challenge. Perishables, temperature controlled and high-priority shipments need to be unloaded first, but these are not necessarily by the door, and it’s critical not unbalance the aircraft and work to an approved plan.

Anchorage has not fully bounced back from the pandemic in terms of staffing and a lot of expertise left the airport and state, so it’s not always easy to secure the manpower and equipment. But time and again, the Cathay Cargo team has been able to step up and demonstrate their We Know How ethos with expertise and a family feel. “That gives me the most satisfaction,” says Liftee. “Problem-solving with the team. Everyone contributes to what we do here, and it’s great to be able to look back and say: ‘We did that.’”

Read more: Why Anchorage remains a major hub for Cathay Cargo and global trade