PIT’s World Class Cargo Infrastructure Supports Global Operations

Brian Miklos has seen a lot of items come off FedEx aircraft at Pittsburgh International Airport. Hockey sticks could be evidence of a new player’s arrival. He knows that prom season is just around the corner when he sees the volume of dresses go up. And it’s nearing Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day when flowers and candy start showing up in large volumes.

“We don’t know what’s in the packages, but the packaging tells us a story and sometimes the data and information we get really give us a glimpse behind the scenes,” said Miklos, senior manager of ramp operations at the FedEx Pittsburgh Ramp facility. He’s been part of the FedEx team for 30 years this December.

Over the years, Miklos has tracked packages ranging from engagement rings to Steelers playoff tickets. But it’s the medical shipments that are most impactful.

“We have a significant medical community that relies on FedEx every single day. We focus on prioritizing their shipments because they often have a specific shelf life. These are lifesaving equipment and supplies that customers depend on. We’ll often receive alerts indicating that certain medical equipment is needed for surgery that particular day, and we’ll identify and expedite it to make sure that surgery happens,” said Miklos.

The Pittsburgh region boasts a robust healthcare industry. UPMC and Highmark Health are two of the largest employers with 129,000 people in their workforce. And with over 54 hospitals and 1,000+ doctors’ offices and outpatient sites among just the two of them, along with dozens of others in the region, there is a substantial need.

Miklos said he’s proud of the important part that FedEx played in connecting the world as we all navigated the pandemic.

“Our collaboration with the medical community didn’t start with COVID, but during that time, we were shipping pallets of ventilators across the world. That’s impactful.”

The company’s work to support the medical community here includes a great relationship with the region’s pharmaceutical companies, including specialty pharmacies. With numerous facilities in the region, FedEx sales agents are in direct contact with them to keep abreast of everything and anything that’s going on. That relationship with pharmaceutical shippers is vitally important because of the shelf life of those shipments.

Team members, 150 of them, at the Pittsburgh Ramp begin early in the morning and are there to welcome the 5:30 a.m. FedEx planes landing from Memphis and Indianapolis.

The shipments are unloaded from the aircraft, sorted, processed and then loaded onto 30 FedEx trailers for transportation. These trailers are driven by FedEx team members to local distribution centers, where couriers and service providers—who handle deliveries to residences and businesses—begin and conclude their routes with packages transported within the FedEx network.

The Pittsburgh Ramp services about 17 local FedEx stations, which Miklos notes is a large footprint for a ramp. A lot of that is because of the geography of Pittsburgh with the rivers and bridges and dates back to when FedEx first located to the Pittsburgh region. It services locations as far north as Meadville and as far west as Youngstown, Ohio. The southern border is Clarksburg, West Virginia, and the Pittsburgh Ramp serves east to State College.

They repeat that process again in the afternoon, and in the evening team members load up the planes returning to Memphis and Indianapolis. They process about 30,000 shipments a day with approximately 18,000 arriving and about 12,000 departing, on average. The Memphis aircraft takes off at 9:18 p.m. with Indianapolis following at 10 p.m. to keep everything on schedule.

And that schedule is important.

“When we bring new hires on board, we talk about working in extreme temperatures. We operate in hot and humid conditions, and snow, rain, and sleet, and everything that goes along with this region’s weather,” said Miklos. “Being at PIT, where there’s the resiliency of a workforce’s dedication to being part of this operation, is important for that work.”

Support and infrastructure in place for world-class operations

PIT has continued to focus on cargo carriers as important partners in the airport’s ecosystem. In addition to tenants like FedEx, the airport has five cargo buildings that range in size from 50,000 to 80,000 square feet and, collectively, provide more than 310,000 square feet of warehouse capacity and over 1 million square feet of cargo apron space. Based on 2021 data, the annual direct, indirect and induced impact from air cargo for this region is $955 million.

“We’ve invested heavily to make sure that we have the infrastructure that cargo partners need, because cargo matters and is an important part of our economy here,” said Bryan Dietz, Senior Vice President of Air Service and Commercial Development at Pittsburgh International Airport. “And our resiliency is part of that. We’re proud that our teams keep our runways open and allow commercial and domestic flights to land in all kinds of weather – and have been recognized with the Balchen award six times for their work and professionalism. It’s quite an accomplishment.”

Last month, PIT and the Allegheny County Airport were recognized at the Balchen/Post Awards at the International Aviation Snow Symposium for excellence in snow and ice control.

“Even if you never fly anywhere, what the airport does impacts you,” added Dietz. “And cargo is a perfect example of that.”

Miklos agrees. The FedEx partnership with PIT extends beyond just its aircraft landing here. FedEx and other tenants meet with the airport on a monthly basis, with a focus on proactive communication related to construction, security updates and more to make sure everybody’s on the same page. The organization also hosts an annual tabletop to prepare for crisis situations and determine everyone’s roles and responsibilities if there ever were an issue.

“We do a lot of role-playing and walking through what to do if a serious event occurs. What’s this department doing? What’s that department doing? What are you doing internally at FedEx? And what is this particular vendor doing?” said Miklos. “It’s an important exercise for all of us. It’s a thorough meeting to try to be proactive from a security standpoint.”

He started as a package handler in 1995 before serving as a courier for a few years. He got into management in 1999. His tenure with the company has included a stint as a manager at the Cranberry Township station before he began working at the Pittsburgh Ramp in 2013. It gives him a comprehensive insight into the global FedEx network.

“It’s easy to overlook the everyday impact of our work, especially the exciting and impressive moments. This morning, I watched the planes arrive, and it really highlighted the vast reach of the FedEx network. Here in Pittsburgh, we play a crucial role in keeping the world connected,” said Miklos.