Behind the scenes: Baltic Cargo Hub

With the start of operations in March of this year, the Baltic Cargo Hub (BCH) marks a new milestone in cargo handling at RIX Riga Airport. The 6895-square-metre BCH terminal building with office spaces is specifically designed to handle air cargo and air mail, including special handling of dangerous goods, live animals, temperature-controlled goods, and high-value shipments.

The official opening ceremony for the Baltic Cargo Hub took place on May 22, showcasing advanced terminal capabilities to industry stakeholders, including airlines, cargo agents, freight forwarders, postal organisations, and government institutions.
From left: Arvīds Maurāns, Executive Director at Baltic Cargo HUB; Atis Švinka, Minister for Transport; Pauls Juris Cālītis, airBaltic’s interim CEO; Juris Kanels, Chairman of the Supervisory Board RIX Riga Airport

Located directly on the RIX Riga Airport cargo apron and equipped with state-of-the-art ULD handling equipment, BCH offers unique cargo handling opportunities for belly and freighter aircraft.

Cargo acceptance for flight is a key process in the journey of a shipment. BCH incorporates digital acceptance checklists to verify the weight, dimensions, and other special handling requirements of shipments.

BCH has built an integrated air mail sorter line to increase shipment throughput and sorting accuracy to various destinations served by the airBaltic flight network. This sorter is also designed for high-level e-commerce shipment sorting.
For flight safety, it is important that each and every shipment undergoes security screening. BCH’s own trained security screening personnel operate X-ray and explosive trace detector devices before shipments are allowed on board aircraft.

BCH is designed as a ‘one-stop shop’ with all industry stakeholders under one roof: customs and food and veterinary services, freight forwarders, customs brokers, etc. This means all issues regarding freight can be easily resolved at BCH, providing its clients with the best cargo product experience.