Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), a SATS company, has opened a new 25,400 sq m cargo terminal at Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport (LYS), consolidating its Lyon operations at a single facility designed to support airlines, freight forwarders and high-value industries across the region.
The new Aéroport de Lyon DC1 facility is located in the centre of the airport’s Cargoport zone and is directly connected to the airport’s runways. WFS said the site has been designed around the operational requirements of air freight, with the aim of improving cargo flows, processing efficiency and supply-chain reliability.
The development is the result of a collaboration between Aéroports de Lyon, WFS, logistics real estate company Prologis and the em2c Group, which provided development, construction and technical oversight for the project.
Related Post
Temperature-controlled capacity for pharma and sensitive cargo
A key feature of the new terminal is its 4,400 sq m of cold-room capacity for specialised and temperature-sensitive cargo, including pharmaceuticals and perishables.
The facility has 36 dock doors for import and export cargo, including five specifically configured for air freight pallet transfers. The layout is designed to optimise movements between landside access points, cargo handling areas and airside operations.
WFS said the terminal has been developed to meet the requirements of sectors including healthcare, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, which have a significant presence in the Lyon region.
The facility supports WFS’s 380 customers in the Lyon area and is now the company’s second-largest operation in France after Paris Charles de Gaulle. It is also expected to sustain more than 300 direct and indirect jobs.
Laurent Bernard, Vice President of WFS France, said the new facility marked another stage in the company’s development in Lyon, where WFS began operations in 1971.
He said the terminal’s design, temperature-controlled areas and cargo-flow organisation would strengthen WFS’s capacity and operational efficiency for handling sensitive and high-value shipments.
Bernard also highlighted Lyon’s industrial base and its concentration of high-value economic sectors, saying the new infrastructure would reinforce the city’s role in national and European logistics flows.
Collaboration behind the development
The terminal was developed in partnership with Prologis and em2c, alongside Aéroports de Lyon.
Vincent Sadé, Vice President and Head of Capital Deployment France at Prologis, said the project was designed to integrate the specific requirements of the airport environment, logistics real estate and WFS’s cargo-handling operations.
Yvan Patet, President of the em2c Group, said the project reflected a joint effort by regional and international partners to strengthen the region while incorporating environmental considerations into the construction process.
Cédric Fechter, Chairman of the Management Board of Aéroports de Lyon, described the terminal as part of the continuing development of Cargoport, the freight zone at Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport.
According to Aéroports de Lyon, Cargoport is France’s second-largest air cargo hub. Fechter said the project would strengthen the region’s supply-chain infrastructure and competitiveness.
Focus on environmental performance
Environmental considerations were incorporated into the development from the design stage, with Aéroport de Lyon DC1 targeting a BREEAM “Very Good” rating.
The terminal is also solar-ready, with a roof designed to accommodate a future photovoltaic installation. WFS’s earlier development announcement said the project also includes energy-efficiency measures and infrastructure for electric vehicles.
The new terminal replaces the need for WFS to operate its Lyon activities across multiple locations, bringing them together in a single high-capacity facility adjacent to the runway.
The opening strengthens WFS’s presence in one of France’s important industrial and logistics regions while adding dedicated infrastructure for pharmaceutical, healthcare, perishable and other sensitive cargo.
Aéroport de Lyon DC1 is the latest new-build cargo terminal in the combined SATS and WFS network, which WFS says operates more than 215 stations across 27 countries.
