Stockton Metropolitan Airport Grants Permit to New Air Cargo Carrier Atlas Air

Stockton Metropolitan Airport (SCK) is pleased to announce that a permit has been issued by Airport Director Harry Mavrogenes allowing Atlas Air, an air cargo carrier and subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, to fly its planes into the Airport.

Atlas Air is the second air cargo carrier to apply for and receive a permit at SCK. Earlier this year American Transport Services Group, Inc. (ATSG) and its official ground-handling group began operations.

Atlas has an agreement to fly 20 aircraft for Amazon, as does ATSG, whose subsidiary Air Transport International currently operates four aircraft per day out of SCK. According to Kevin Clark, an official from Atlas, a definitive schedule has not yet been set for the new flights. It is anticipated that with the upcoming holiday season, flights into the airport will increase.

Atlas was featured nationally in many publications in September with the unveiling of Prime Air 1, the first of the giant 767 air freighters to be painted with the name of Amazon’s new air cargo entity. Recently, Atlas Air Worldwide announced a deal with Boeing to convert nine 767 wide-body passenger planes into freighters, up from an order of four planes the company previously announced in July.

Amazon.com, the leading online retailer, is continually expanding its operations. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster noted Amazon’s efforts at “gaining proximity to the population” and estimated that 44 percent of the U.S. population now lives near an Amazon facility. There are two Amazon fulfillment centers currently in operation in nearby Tracy and Patterson, and a third one, a one-million square foot facility, that opened recently in Mountain House.

“Stockton Airport is located in a prime location for transporting goods throughout Northern California,” said Airport Director Harry Mavrogenes. “We’re excited by this opportunity to provide the services needed by the air cargo carriers and are prepared to meet any expanding demand.”