Amazon opened a new regional air hub in San Bernardino in April this year to provide fast delivery for customers in the Southern California region.

This is yet another addition of an air hub to Amazon’s expansive air freight network of seven air sites in the state. The 660K-square foot sorting facility started operating at the San Bernardino International Airport. The company took over the airport facility formerly known as the Eastgate Air Cargo Logistics Center built by San Bernardino International Airport and Hillwood Enterprises, LP back in 2019.

Employment Opportunities

The company aims to add 1000 full time jobs at the site by 2022.

“One of the primary goals of the Inland Valley Development Agency and SBD International Airport is to restore jobs and economic growth to the Inland Empire as a result of the Norton Air Force Base closure”, said Michael Burrows, executive director at the San Bernardino International Airport.

Curtailing Carbon Emissions

Since Amazon was involved in guiding the construction of this site. The company states that “the facility will operate a fleet of electric ground service equipment, and a solar panel rooftop is slated for installation later this year“. However, there are law-suits as well that allege Amazon’s operations in the area will be harmful due to poorer air quality, climate and other impact perspective.

Putting 70% of the US Population Within Next Day Reach

Amazon has expanded its route network, adopted sophisticated scheduling and partnered with other airlines to bring next day delivery to 70% of the US population, according to the research by DePaul University. The graphic below shows how Amazon has increased its flights to and from its major air hubs, including Ontario, Riverside. The Blue lines indicate Boeing 767 and the Red lines indicate Boeing 737s, according to a study by DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development.

However, we might see an increased number of flights now taking off from the San Bernardino air hub.

Amazon Flight Network within U.S. Mainland, August 24, 2020

Amazon Expands its Operations in the Inland Empire

Last week Startempire Wire reported that Amazon is expanding its operations in the Inland Empire with two new fulfillment centers it plans to open in 2022. The first would be at Victorville promising to bring over 1,000 full-time jobs to the region with a second one to open in Ontario the same year. 

Amazon added almost one in five of all new jobs created in 2012-2017 in the Inland Empire region’s logistics sector, per an estimate by chief economist for the Inland Empire Economic Partnership.

The impact of Amazon’s growing network in the Inland Empire, and its impact on the local job market and business activity is well documented. The company invested $19.3B in the Inland Empire since 2010 and added 40K+ jobs, according to the company’s U.S. Economic Impact Report.

However, a growing air fleet also means that sooner than later Amazon might enter the business-to-consumer logistics sector. That’s when existing behemoths of the trade, DHL, UPS, and FedEx might get a run for their monies.

Author: Sharjeel

Sharjeel joined Startempire Wire as emerging technologies editor. Earlier, he worked at Silicon Canals, a leading English language technology media source for the Benelux and wider Europe. He covered the European technology and startup ecosystem digging into latest funding rounds of startups.