Bournemouth Airport, UK – 20th May 2025: Bournemouth Airport’s dedicated cargo division, Cargo First, has announced its best-ever year, recording gross cargo throughput of 31,000 tonnes for the 12 months to the end of March 2025

The milestone, which ranks Bournemouth Airport eighth in the UK for airfreight, compares to 18,000 tonnes to March 2024 .

It marks a period of rapid growth for Cargo First, underpinned by growing e-commerce imports and a significant increase in UK exports. In the first few months of 2025 alone, export volumes have risen to approximately double the levels seen in the prior year, with high-value UK-manufactured goods now a growing part of the business.

As the cargo operation expands, so too does the workforce. Cargo First expects to reach around 80 employees by the summer, with further recruitment planned over the next 12 months. The growth in cargo operations also supports additional jobs on site, including in refuelling, airfield services, fire and Air Traffic Control.

Cargo First’s growth will be boosted further by major investment at the airport. As part of a £60 million site-wide investment by Bournemouth Airport’s owners, Regional & City Airports, plans are well advanced for the development of a new 35,000 square foot cargo facility.

This will approximately double the operation’s Customs-bonded warehouse capacity and forms part of a significant development which will also deliver new airside facilities purpose-built for handling cargo aircraft this year.

Stephen Gill, Managing Director of Bournemouth Airport, said: “We are incredibly proud of what the Cargo First team has achieved. To record our best-ever year is a testament to the hard work of everyone involved. With our new cargo facility on the horizon and volumes growing, we remain focused on Bournemouth Airport becoming the UK’s primary air gateway for e-commerce imports and exports.”

Cargo First was officially launched in 2022 as Bournemouth Airport’s in-house airfreight handling business. Since then, it has rapidly established itself as a disruptor in the UK market and positioned Bournemouth as a genuinely viable alternative UK hub for freight customers seeking to avoid the congested London hub airports.

Located just 90 minutes from west London’s freight corridor, and with a proven ability to process goods from aircraft to highway substantially faster than the main London hubs, Cargo First can get consignments into those distribution centres quicker than via the London airports themselves.

The business is looking at future diversification centred on its core capabilities around time-sensitive cargo and sees potential opportunities ranging from express mail to pharmaceuticals and perishables. Both Bournemouth Airport and Cargo First are part of the UK’s privately-owned Regional and City Airports (RCA) group, providing a seamless operation to cargo customers.

• Cargo First will be at Air Cargo Europe in Munich from June 2 to 5 on stand A1.329.