In 2019, Amazon’s airfreight division started to build an 800,000 sq. ft. air hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport. Now the $1.5 billion-worth facility is finally open for business, improving Amazon’s logistics and aiming for faster delivery of customer packages throughout the U.S.
The new air hub is expected to operate a dozen cargo flights per day by the end of 2021, facilitating the processing of millions of packages weekly.
Amazon Air, the air cargo arm of the multinational, was launched in 2016 and operates out of over 40 airports across the country, with multiple carriers flying on its routes. The new facility in northern Kentucky will act as the central hub of its entire network.
Seven buildings and a multi-level parking serve the new air hub, which also includes a ramp for aircraft parking.
But what makes the Kentucky air hub stand out is its innovative use of robotics technology, with Amazon’s Robin robotic arms injecting the packages onto robotic drives. There are also mobile drive units used for quickly moving packages around across the floor, as well as ergonomic workstations that ensure a comfortable environment for the staff. Amazon also designed the air hub to be sustainable and plans to install a solar rooftop panel in 2022, to feed all the power generated into the local electrical grid.
The new facility in Kentucky will create over 2,000 jobs, with some of the employees planned to transfer from other Amazon sites. But some of the “Amazonians” to join the team will be new to the field of air cargo and will be trained from zero. Amazon promises competitive pay and comprehensive benefits to future Kentucky air hub employees.
In addition to its network of sites in the States, Amazon also has a relatively new regional air hub in Germany, since last November. It is located at the Leipzig/Halle Airport.
Amazon Air, the air cargo arm of the multinational, was launched in 2016 and operates out of over 40 airports across the country, with multiple carriers flying on its routes. The new facility in northern Kentucky will act as the central hub of its entire network.
Seven buildings and a multi-level parking serve the new air hub, which also includes a ramp for aircraft parking.
But what makes the Kentucky air hub stand out is its innovative use of robotics technology, with Amazon’s Robin robotic arms injecting the packages onto robotic drives. There are also mobile drive units used for quickly moving packages around across the floor, as well as ergonomic workstations that ensure a comfortable environment for the staff. Amazon also designed the air hub to be sustainable and plans to install a solar rooftop panel in 2022, to feed all the power generated into the local electrical grid.
The new facility in Kentucky will create over 2,000 jobs, with some of the employees planned to transfer from other Amazon sites. But some of the “Amazonians” to join the team will be new to the field of air cargo and will be trained from zero. Amazon promises competitive pay and comprehensive benefits to future Kentucky air hub employees.
In addition to its network of sites in the States, Amazon also has a relatively new regional air hub in Germany, since last November. It is located at the Leipzig/Halle Airport.