By Cindy Ellen Russell, Star-Bulletin
United Airlines' new cargo facility features a fabric
roof to let light in. The airline held a formal dedication
for the facility at Honolulu Airport yesterday.

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United opens
cargo facility

The building has
58,000 square feet
of warehouse space

By Russ Lynch
Star-Bulletin

United Airlines' new $8 million cargo-transfer facility at Honolulu Airport is ready to handle freight.

Fifty-five United employees work at the building, which has 58,000 square feet of warehouse space and can be expanded to 110,000 square feet. It features a fabric roof that lets the daylight through for increased visibility inside the warehouse.

United's Hawaii managing director Norm Reeder, who led a dedication ceremony at the airport yesterday, said the facility is expected to be a major connection point for cargo moving between the mainland, Hawaii, and Japan.

It has a 50-position container handling system, improved computerized reservations and tracking systems, and a "lift pit" -- a floor area that can be raised and lowered to speed up handling of large upper-deck cargo pallets.

The facility also includes areas set aside for federal agriculture and Customs inspections.

United, flying to Hawaii since 1947, has 19 departures to the mainland every day and two a day to Japan.

The airline employs more than 2,100 people in Hawaii.