Opfikon, Switzerland-based aviation company Swissport has opened a perishables center at London’s Heathrow Airport, aiming to support growing global demand for fresh Atlantic salmon, among other products.
The center, acquired by Swissport in November 2024 to expand perishables handling capacity in the U.K., is the first such dedicated facility in the nation and responds to growing demand for perishable goods in Europe and beyond, “where exporters require stable uplift windows, fast processing, and consistent cold-chain performance,” the firm said.
“Launching our first dedicated perishables center in the U.K. … marks a significant milestone for Swissport," said Joe Bellfield, Swissport’s chief operating officer of cargo for the U.K. and Ireland. “Heathrow is a critical gateway for global seafood flows, and perishables require absolute precision. By bringing our proven cool-chain processes, specialized infrastructure, and trained teams to Heathrow Airport, we are strengthening the reliability and predictability that exporters depend on.”
Denmark-headquartered freight and logistics firm Scan Global Logistics has become the first customer to operate from the site and has begun storing its time- and temperature-sensitive goods at the nearly 2,700-square-meter facility.
“Producers of temperature-sensitive goods depend on predictable capacity and controlled handling, especially as volumes continue to rise,” Scan Global Regional CEO for North Europe Steen Søgaard said. “This setup provides a stable platform that supports both daily operations and long-term growth. Swissport’s global cool-chain expertise and operational scale make them a strong partner for the U.K. market.”
The facility is designed to handle up to 30,000 tons of perishable goods per year and also includes a dedicated Border Inspection Post, which allows for immediate airside inspection and clearance of imported goods. Soon, the facility will also sport an electromagnetic inspection scanner, which allows dense shipments – primarily of seafood – to be screened without the need to break them down first.
“With this technology, we can move perishables through Heathrow more efficiently and with far greater predictability,” Scan Global Head of Perishables Colin Wells said. “It improves processing times while maintaining the highest standards of quality and freshness and creates a unique and highly reliable solution for which [there] is a high market demand.”
The opening of the new facility coincides with stricter U.K. regulations on seafood exports that the nation made effective 8 January. Under the more stringent guidelines, U.K. seafood export firms must now provide additional information through the nation’s Fish Export Service (FES) before shipping their products to the E.U., such as, for example, the weights of each seafood type used in a final product.
The restrictions went into effect two days before the E.U. rolled out its new CATCH import program, which requires digital catch certificates to be attached to all fishery products entering the E.U. as officials look to limit illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
As traceability requirements increase in tandem with demand for perishable goods such as fresh salmon – whether from the U.K., Norway, the Faroe Islands, or beyond – Swissport said that specialized hub operations with predictable throughput, like the facility just opened at Heathrow, are “becoming essential for exporters.”
“The three-year alliance between Swissport and Scan Global Logistics supports this growth by providing exporters with reliable capacity, controlled handling, and faster processing at one of the world’s most important air cargo hubs,” Swissport said.
