UPS Airlines will open by April a 275,000-square-foot hangar at its Worldport hub in Louisville, Kentucky, that is large enough to park two Boeing 747-8 cargo jets side by side, according to the company.
UPS (NYSE: UPS) invested $220 million in the new facility, which triples the maintenance footprint in Louisville for the largest plane in the UPS fleet, spokesperson Michelle Polk said. The integrated logistics company currently uses a hangar that can fit one 747 freighter.
The two extra work bays will support service checks, regular maintenance and engine changes for the UPS fleet, which runs from Boeing 757s on the standard size, to widebody Airbus A300s, Boeing 767-300s and MD-11s, and 747s on the large end. Outside ramp space will be able to hold several aircraft.
Having more service bays will increase UPS’ ability to quickly return aircraft to service flying goods around the world, said Polk.
A $78 million expansion of UPS’s Global Aviation Training Center is also near completion, said Polk. The training facility will house eight high-tech flight simulators for training pilots, as well as classrooms and offices.
The UPS Worldport is a massive transshipment facility that handles about 360 inbound and outbound flights per day and processes more than 2 million daily packages from countries around the world.