RFD has reached its highest-ever FAA cargo ranking. What has changed at Rockford over the past few years to get you to this point – and, more importantly, what needs to change next if that growth is to continue?
There are several factors behind that growth; our Amazon and UPS operations have continued to expand, while at the same time we have seen significant growth on the international side, attracting more international carriers to Rockford. Underpinning all of that has been our investment in infrastructure.
One of our fundamental advantages is that we have room to grow. A lot of airports, particularly major passenger hubs, simply do not have that flexibility. For us, it’s important to invest in the necessary infrastructure ahead of demand so that it’s already available when our customers need it.
When UPS won the US Postal Service contract, its operations at Rockford increased substantially, partly because we had already planned to ensure the additional parking capacity was available before that growth materialised. That ability to work alongside our customers, understand where their businesses are heading and stay ahead of their infrastructure requirements has been a major part of our growth. In 2021 and 2022 alone, we invested around US$70 million in infrastructure to support that strategy.
On the international side, we have worked extremely hard on business development and on communicating the business case for Rockford, and our work with DSV shows what that can lead to. DSV now operates services into Rockford from both Shanghai, and Incheon, significantly expanding our international connectivity. As that connectivity increases, the proposition becomes stronger for airlines, forwarders and shippers alike. We’ve already started to see the effects of this, with Rich Sale, a forwarder specialising in cross-border e-commerce, recently launching twice weekly flights to Rockford.
"One of our fundamental advantages is that we have room to grow. A lot of airports, particularly major passenger hubs, simply do not have that flexibility"
There are obvious parallels between what RFD is trying to achieve in North America and what airports such as Liège have achieved in Europe. Is becoming the ‘Liège of America’ a fair description of the ambition – and what lessons can RFD take from the European cargo airport model?
We signed a sister airport agreement with Liège in October 2025, and part of the thinking behind that relationship is to learn from the connectivity and hub capabilities Liège has developed in Europe, and consider how that model can translate to the US market.
There are some clear similarities: we are a freighter-focused airport located just outside a major urban area that is already served by a very busy passenger airport. The intention is that cargo does not necessarily need to compete with passenger operations at a major gateway, but instead, it can move through a cargo-focused airport where the infrastructure and operating environment are designed around the needs of freight.
Liège is a great case study for what a regional airport can achieve with that model. Cargo does not have to play second fiddle to passenger traffic, and being outside a major city does not mean sacrificing access to that market. You can retain those geographic and economic advantages while offering carriers and shippers the speed, flexibility and reliability of an uncongested gateway. Liège has done a phenomenal job in attracting cargo carriers over the years, and that is what we’re aiming to emulate in the coming years via our partnership.
Shanghai, Luxembourg, and now Incheon represent a significant expansion of RFD's international connectivity. Are these individual route wins, or are we beginning to see the foundations of a much bigger global network strategy?
We absolutely see them as part of a broader global network strategy. The bigger opportunity is the connectivity that individual routes create and the development of a hub-and-spoke system at Rockford, rather than simply serving individual point-to-point routes.
Our existing customers are recognising what can be achieved by operating through Rockford. They can take the efficiency gains at Rockford and pass those benefits on to their own customers. Our approach is to build solutions around what freight carriers and logistics providers actually need, rather than expecting them to fit around an airport that is primarily designed for something else. We are seeing customers take advantage of that opportunity.
As more international points are added to the network, each one strengthens the wider proposition, building the connectivity and infrastructure required to function as a much more significant international cargo hub.
"Our approach is to build solutions around what freight carriers and logistics providers actually need, rather than expecting them to fit around an airport that is primarily designed for something else"
Many airports want a greater share of Asian e-commerce traffic. Why should a shipper or logistics provider route that cargo through Rockford rather than one of the established US gateways?
At many of the traditional US cargo gateways, logistics providers inevitably have to contend with the congestion and competing operational priorities that come with passenger traffic. That matters particularly for e-commerce, where the entire supply chain is built around keeping high volumes of goods moving quickly.
Rich Sale, a forwarder specialising in cross-border e-commerce, recently launched twice-weekly flights from Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport (TNA) to Rockford. One of the advantages that attracted Rich Sale to Rockford was our ability to move an aircraft from wheels down to engines off in as little as five minutes. We then work with Gateway Sales and Solutions on unloading and onward transportation, helping to eliminate all unnecessary waiting time for drivers as well. Customers from the first flights have received shipments directly to their bonded facilities within 75 minutes of the trucks being loaded on the airport ramp.
E-commerce has helped reshape the geography of air cargo, but it is also facing greater regulatory and geopolitical scrutiny. Does that change how RFD thinks about the opportunity, or do you still see Asian e-commerce as a major long-term growth driver?
We still see e-commerce as a significant long-term growth driver. It is important not to think about e-commerce solely in terms of the low-value products that have been the focus of changes to US tariff and customs rules. E-commerce is a much broader market than that, and we continue to see growth across the sector.
We are also seeing a wider variety of products moving through e-commerce channels, and those products can have very different handling and logistics requirements. That creates opportunities for airports that can provide the infrastructure and flexibility needed to support them.
Of course, regulation is something that we monitor closely. We need to understand new requirements as they emerge and assess what they mean both for our own operations and for our customers. But regulation does not change our underlying view of the e-commerce market. We expect e-commerce to remain an important part of global air cargo.
"We still see e-commerce as a significant long-term growth driver"
Cold chain is a very different proposition from handling general freight or e-commerce. What infrastructure, expertise and partnerships does RFD need before it can credibly compete for pharmaceutical traffic?
We already have the capability to handle pharmaceutical cargo at Rockford, but our ambition goes considerably further than having that baseline capability.
We are investing in enhanced pharmaceutical solutions because we want Rockford to become a premier cold chain corridor for pharma shipments moving into and out of the US.
An area we are currently developing is modular infrastructure that can be maintained at a range of different temperatures, giving us greater flexibility to accommodate the specific requirements of different products.
Longer term, we also have plans to develop the larger warehousing spaces already available at the airport as volumes grow.
It comes back to the philosophy that has underpinned much of our development, investing ahead of the customer. We recognise that we cannot expect pharmaceutical operators to bring significant volumes to Rockford without providing the solution first and demonstrating that the airport is ready to support them.
RFD has traditionally sold itself partly as an alternative to congested major gateways. As the airport gets bigger, how do you protect the speed and flexibility that made Rockford attractive in the first place?
Growth is obviously what we want, but it cannot come at the expense of the efficiency that attracted customers to Rockford in the first place.
The infrastructure we have developed over recent years gives us significant capacity to grow while maintaining that efficient operating environment our customers have come to expect. In 2023, for example, we opened a new taxiway providing direct access from our primary runway to our international cargo centre, ensuring we maintain our airfield efficiency into the future.
That approach allows us to stay ahead of potential bottlenecks. Given the way we have built out the airport, the space we have available, and the investments we continue to make, the risk of congestion at Rockford is outside the realm of possibility. If we keep anticipating demand and building the necessary infrastructure ahead of it, there is no reason that becoming a larger cargo airport should mean becoming a congested one.
"The infrastructure we have developed over recent years gives us significant capacity to grow while maintaining that efficient operating environment our customers have come to expect"
If we have this conversation again in three years, what do you expect will be the biggest difference between the RFD of today and the RFD of 2029?
I would expect one of the most visible differences to be the number of international airlines and services operating at Rockford.
We have had some significant wins over the past year, and we see that trajectory continuing.
There is an element of momentum to this. As existing operators demonstrate that the Rockford model works, it strengthens the business case for others. Based on the conversations we are having with prospective customers, there is a real appetite for alternatives to traditional passenger gateways.
At the same time, we are currently developing our master plan for the next 20 years. As Rockford matures as a cargo hub, technology will become an increasingly important part of that development. We want to invest more heavily in technology that can further enhance the customer offering and, critically, help us maintain the efficiency of the airport as volumes and operations increase.
So, by 2029, I would expect RFD to be more international, more connected and more technologically enabled, but still offering the speed, flexibility, and cargo-focused operating environment that have driven our growth to date.
