Cathay Cargo has just announced a long-term agreement with NorthLink Aviation for space at its new air-cargo terminal and guaranteed use of its aircraft stands at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, which will be fully open by October 2025. 

Anchorage is an essential port of call for Cathay Cargo. It acts as a technical stop for transpacific Boeing 747 freighters and provides the opportunity to refuel and change crew before a flight back to Hong Kong or onward to stops across the Americas. At any point of the day, you can expect to see two or three Cathay Cargo freighters parked up for their pit-stops, and it is the second busiest port on the network for Cathay after Hong Kong, handling 70 flights a week – all freighters.

While Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is a useful stopping off point for freighters plying the trunk route between the Americas and Asia, its geography does bring with it seasonal challenges, especially in the long, dark and very cold Alaskan winters. As resilient as the airport and the Cathay Cargo teams are, if there is a severe snowstorm, there can be disruption. But now through this new partnership with NorthLink Aviation, Cathay Cargo has taken steps to minimise this starting from next year. 

This agreement will add resilience and reliability to Cathay Cargo’s winter operations at Anchorage because it currently uses stands provided by the local airport authority that are shared with other carriers operating there. During weather disruption these stands can become occupied for longer or even blocked, which means that if aircraft aren’t leaving, others can’t land, leading to diversions and ultimately flight cancellations. 

The new deal, signed in Cathay City last month, will grant Cathay Cargo access to 11 power-through hardstands for aircraft to park and depart from without ground-tug assistance, and four additional regular push-back hardstands. Having these reserved stands available when there may be congestion elsewhere at the airport will bring more reliability to the schedule. Additionally, the new site, currently under construction but with a full completion date before winter next year, offers new cargo terminal capacity with customs clearance for cargo entering the US.

‘Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport has been a cornerstone of Cathay Cargo’s successful transpacific operations over many decades,’ says Director Cargo Tom Owen. ‘This partnership with NorthLink further strengthens Anchorage’s strategic significance within our network. Leveraging NorthLink’s privately developed stands through this long-term agreement helps Cathay Cargo address the challenges posed by severe winter storms by ensuring dedicated stand access is available with a dependable supply of hardstand parking, enhancing our operational resilience and service reliability for our customers’ shipments.’ 

This NorthLink project will be one of the first new cargo developments at the Anchorage airport in decades, bringing much-needed additional infrastructure to the fourth busiest cargo airport in the world. ‘We’re honoured to enter this partnership with Cathay Cargo, which is one of the top cargo carriers in the world,’ says Sean Dolan, Chief Executive Officer of NorthLink Aviation. ‘We’re immensely grateful to have them as a customer and to be able to provide them with a higher level of service at such a strategic airport.’

This investment will not only have a knock-on effect in strengthening Hong Kong’s status as an aviation hub, but will also boost Cathay Cargo’s environmental credentials while enhancing operational safety. Each of the parking stands will offer dual-hydrant fuelling systems, lighting towers for enhanced ground safety and ground power systems that will use renewable energy. 

Importantly for winter operations there will be infrastructure in place to support the collection and recycling of de-icing fluid used on the stands prior to departure. ‘This initiative will prevent de-icing fluid from entering the important environmental waters of the Cook Inlet,’ adds Dolan. ‘NorthLink intends to not only provide world-class infrastructure, but partner in helping Cathay Cargo expand commercial opportunities and capture sustainability gains at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.’

This agreement also enhances the safety of Cathay Cargo’s employees and handling agents by having full lighting that is not available on the airport authority stands and live recording, allowing the Cathay Cargo team to monitor progress remotely on the aircraft turnarounds during tech stops.