Houston Welcomes 'Faster, Fresher' Air Cargo Into George Bush Intercontinental Airport

HOUSTON, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Houston Airport System and Trammell Crow Company celebrated the grand opening of a temperature-and-time-sensitive facility at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to support cool-chain providers in the United States and abroad. "Fresh Air Cargo - IAH" is Houston's first custom-designed facility for importers and distributors of perishable goods.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091211/DC25203)

"This is a new dawn for George Bush Intercontinental Airport as it journeys into a new global trade network," said interim director of aviation Eric Potts. "We are especially excited to bring new business opportunities to Houston and the region."

More than 300 people attended a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of Fresh Air Cargo - IAH.  The inaugural flight on Thursday, Dec. 10 was operated by Miami-based Arrow Cargo, which flew air cargo from Bogota, Colombia, into Houston; and then flew an outbound air cargo load from Houston to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  Arrow Cargo is now operating three weekly flights between Latin America and Houston.

"We are pleased to celebrate the official grand opening of Fresh Air Cargo - IAH, and commend the City of Houston and the Houston Airport System their commitment to improving the perishable goods global supply chain," said Steven Bradford, managing director of Trammell Crow Company's airport facilities development team. "We are confident that with this facility, Bush Intercontinental Airport will become a key player in the global trade network and a desirable location for the import and trade of perishable goods."

The airport's anchor tenant for Fresh Air Cargo - IAH, Tradewinds Cargo Handling, offers comprehensive import and export services with the large-scale cold-storage facility designed to handle time-sensitive, perishable imports flown into Houston from international markets and distributed throughout the United States. Tradewinds Cargo Handling is owned by New Jersey-based Group One Investments, LLC.

To learn more about Fresh Air Cargo - IAH, visit   www.fly2houston.com/FreshCargo

About Houston Airport System

The Houston Airport System (HAS) served more than 50 million passengers in 2008, ranking as the 4th largest multi-airport system in the U.S. and the 6th largest airport system in the world. Houston's three airports contribute more than $24 billion to the regional economy and are responsible for the employment of 151,000 people. George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), now celebrating its 40th Anniversary, is the 8th busiest airport in the nation. For more information, visit www.fly2houston.com