Amazon to build air cargo hub in Kentucky, creating 2,000 jobs

By Trevor Mogg Published February 1, 2017

amazon air cargo hub prime plane — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Amazon wants to get your order into your hands as soon as it possibly can.

With a smooth and speedy delivery operation being a key to its success, the company is continuing its push to take full control of its entire shipping operation with plans for a new air cargo hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport in Hebron, Kentucky.

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While Amazon has been working steadily on improving last-mile deliveries using everything from bikes to subway trains to car owners — and soon, perhaps, drones — a more recent interest in reducing reliance on shipping firms such as FedEx and UPS has seen the ecommerce giant take to the skies with its own aircraft to ship packages around the nation.

The Kentucky plan will involve the construction of a $1.5 billion centralized air hub to support its growing fleet of Prime Air cargo planes, creating more than 2,000 jobs in the process.

Construction on the hub is expected to begin this year, with the facility going into operation between 2022 and 2024, depending on how the work progresses.

Amazon signed a lease deal last year for 40 Prime Air cargo planes. At the current time, around 15 of them are in service, with the others set to be added as its operations expand. The new hub will serve these planes as they make their way around the country, moving masses of packages toward their final destination.

This latest announcement from Amazon reflects the company’s growing desire to take control of its complex shipping operations.

It began seriously considering the idea after experiencing logistical difficulties in 2013 when several leading shipping firms struggled with the huge number of packages in their systems, resulting in delivery delays.

In a bid to placate customers who’d been let down, Amazon offered $20 gift cards, at the same time revealing that it was “reviewing the performance of the delivery carriers.” The air cargo hub is the latest sign of the company’s determination to become the master of its own fate.

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