Swissport has opened a 3,000-square-meter cargo handling facility in the French sector of EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse, re-establishing a French legal presence through a new entity, Swissport Cargo Services France.

The warehouse splits into two functions: a 1,000-square-meter French customs zone and 2,000 square meters for international cargo handling plus the buildup and breakdown of airline pallets. Airline cargo handling is the initial focus of the operation.

The structure is deliberate. Swissport Cargo Services France operates as an independent entity on French territory, but it draws directly on the processes and staff expertise of Swissport's long-established cargo operation on the Swiss side of the airport. Andreas Behnke, head of cargo for Switzerland, Italy and France and station manager at Basel-Mulhouse, said the new operation builds on the experience of the existing Basel cargo team while creating a dedicated French presence.

That Basel base gives the venture a measurable foundation. The operation handled more than 47,000 tons of cargo in 2024, with pharmaceutical exports accounting for a significant share of throughput. Pharma traffic was also the driver of the most recent capacity investment: Swissport added 800 square meters of freight space at Basel in 2025 to absorb growing import volumes.

The commercial logic extends beyond freighters and warehouses. Bruno Stefani, regional CEO for Switzerland, Italy and France, framed the facility as an entry point into a broader market. "France is an important aviation market with significant long-term potential for Swissport," he said. Stefani added that the company sees opportunities to expand ground handling and airport hospitality services in France and to develop additional partnerships with airlines and airports.

The move fits Swissport's wider cargo footprint. The company operates more than 120 cargo centers globally and handles more than five million tons of air freight annually. Basel-Mulhouse, with its binational governance straddling the French-Swiss border, offers a rare structural advantage: a single airport campus through which a handler can serve customers under two customs and regulatory regimes.

For airlines, the immediate effect is capacity and choice. Carriers flying freighter or belly cargo into EuroAirport can now access French customs clearance and handling without relying on a separate off-airport arrangement, while importers and exporters in the Alsace region gain a direct link into Swissport's international network.

The facility also positions Swissport to compete for contracts as French regional cargo volumes grow, particularly in pharmaceuticals and high-value goods moving through the Upper Rhine corridor between Basel, Freiburg and Strasbourg.

No airline customers for the new French operation were named at launch, and Swissport did not disclose handling volumes targeted for the first year of operation. The company's stated trajectory — cargo handling first, followed by ground handling and airport hospitality expansion across France — suggests the Basel-Mulhouse opening is a beachhead rather than an endpoint, with future growth dependent on securing airline partnerships in a market where established French handlers already hold significant positions.