FREDDs now available at London Heathrow

FREDDs stands for Free Running Explosive Detection Dogs and could be a game changer for London Heathrow. With UCH Logistics the first third party handler to obtain approved status at London Heathrow.

UCH Logistics and FREDDs

UCH have provided aviation security facilities at London Heathrow for many years and are ideally based in Colnbrook. CAA and DFT certified this latest addition could well be a game changer for the cargo industry.

For many years airlines like Air France and KLM have had an advantage over those operates out of mainland UK. The ability to handle dense cargo thanks to Sniffer dogs on the continent.

BREXIT and FREDDs

One of the biggest questions in the UK airfreight industry related to the volume of cargo trucked to mainland Europe. The UK securing a FREDDs service reduces that need. Liquids in drums and dense cargo is often trucked to Europe. Impossible to screen in the UK freight forwarders are forced onto the continent. Now it can and that evens the competition between UK supporting airlines and European airlines.

Will other third party handlers follow suit

In the aviation security arena where one succeeds others follow. FREDDs has a lot of advantages over traditional methods of screening dense cargo.

• Faster and more efficient turnaround times.
• Cargo is less likely to require breakdown
• A reduction in the need for manual handling
• Cargo can fly from the UK instead of Mainland Europe.

You would assume that all third party handlers in London Heathrow will be trying to catch up. It will be interesting to see how much screening UCH handle outside of their collections and deliveries.

What about shippers in the North of the UK

With UCH Logistics Manchester depot offering trunking to LHR shippers based in the north could benefit. Manchester Airport could do with their own FREDDs facility. It would be good to see further developments across the UK in the use of FREDDs. Supporting the North of the UK where heavy industry still exists. It would be good to see an airport in the Northern Powerhouse region obtain this facility.