WFS completes acquisition of Aviapartner Cargo NV at Brussels Airport

Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), a SATS company, the world’s largest air cargo handler, has successfully completed its acquisition of Aviapartner Cargo NV at Brussels Airport.

The purchase has now received full regulatory approval and will further enhance WFS’s service portfolio in Brussels with the addition of full freighter ramp handling, towing, and airside transportation capabilities. Over 200 Aviapartner Cargo employees will join WFS under the terms of the agreement.

The acquisition supports WFS’s growing footprint and investment in the Belgian air cargo market.

WFS opened its own operation in Brussels in 1992 and already provides warehouse handling for over 50 airlines at two facilities spanning nearly 30,000m². It also has a strong and growing presence in Liège, offering ramp and warehouse handling for 12 airlines as well as Cainiao, a global leader in e-commerce logistics.

Aviapartner has provided cargo handling services at Brussels Airport for 75 years, including the provision of warehousing for freight forwarding companies. As part of the acquisition, WFS will take over Aviapartner Cargo’s 33,000m² cargo terminal at the airport, which houses two specialist pharmaceutical handling areas, a Phyto Sanitary inspection point, and dedicated mail and courier handling services. Aviapartner will continue to deliver ground handling services for passenger airlines and executive/private aviation at Brussels Airport.

This development will further strengthen WFS’s Belgium product offering, adding airside capacity as well as enhanced freighter ramp access and cargo transportation capabilities.

“We are delighted to have completed this acquisition and to be adding more capacity, customers, and skilled workers to the WFS operation at Brussels, Airport,” said Philippe Torry, WFS Managing Director Belgium. “The addition of freighter and ramp handling capabilities to the WFS portfolio in Brussels will also boost our growth opportunities with both existing and new clients.”