Heathrow to set up WebPortal to get trucks off road and cut

LONDON Heathrow has unveiled new plans to set up a 'WebPortal" aimed at consolidating freight loads, and reducing the number of trucks on the roads around the airport in an effort to encourage company partners to operate sustainably to reduce polluting emissions as at a top priority.

The announcement comes after airport's authorities launched a new 'Blueprint to Reduce Emissions" for this year.

Heathrow's plans to launch an air cargo WebPortal was outlined during the IATA World Cargo Symposium in Berlin, where Heathrow has been named a finalist in the Air Cargo Excellence Awards in recognition of its customer performance, facilities, and value of cargo offering, reported The Financial of Tbilisi and Kiev.

Heathrow is the largest freight port by value in the UK, handling 1.5 million tonnes of cargo a year.

Heathrow's proposed WebPortal would be the UK's first geographically specific system of its kind. Subscribed members would exchange and share information about any spare capacity on their vehicles. Once a match has been found, operators could then negotiate a price for this space among themselves.

The WebPortal, along with measures like providing an off-airport distribution centre, increased monitoring of the use of roads by freight vehicles, and tighter rules on vehicle licensing aims to ensure the number of delivery trucks will be maintained in future at similar levels to today's and that the lowest emission trucks are encouraged to operate around Heathrow.

"Our cargo partners can reduce their costs, our local communities will experience less congestion and improved air quality, and Heathrow will build on its strength as an airport of choice for cargo," Heathrow officials stated.