MENZIES Aviation recently opened a new cargo facility at Melbourne’s Avalon Airport after international flights began there in December.

Malaysian carrier AirAsia X switched its twice-daily Kuala Lumpur flight from Melbourne Tullamarine to Avalon.

AirAsia X is the inaugural international airline to transport cargo to Avalon Airport and is forecast to carry about 10,000 tonnes via the new location in 2019.

To facilitate the cargo handing model, Menzies Aviation trucking services link the Avalon and Tullamarine, offering cargo transport services to airlines and the local freight forwarding industry.

Menzies Aviation general manager, cargo, Clayton Williams, said: “We are very pleased to continue to partner with AirAsia X in Melbourne Avalon. The new location enables the expansion of our trucking solutions in Victoria and has been received very positively by the local freight forwarder community.”

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The inaugural AirAsia flight at Avalon in early December sealed a 10-year deal between the airline and the airport and follows more than $48m of investment from the Australian and Victorian governments to develop the new facility.

AirAsia X Group CEO Nadda Buranasiri said the flight’s arrival signified a new era for the AirAsia Group in Australia.

“This purpose-built no-frills facility has today become one of the most important international hubs AirAsia flies to outside of Southeast Asia,” he said.