Amazon has scaled back its plans to expand in Lakeland.
Amazon seeks to lease an additional 10.6 acres to the immediate west of its existing cargo sorting facility, located at 4145 Kindron Road, from the city-owned airport.
“After review of plans from their leadership, [Amazon’s] decided to do a 1.5 expansion instead of a 2.0,” Kris Hallstrand, airport director, said.
Amazon seeks to expand its aircraft parking to fit two additional Boeing 767s, and extend its space for truck parking. This would allow the company to bring in additional flights per day with parking for the planes, loading and unloading.
“In Lakeland, to meet the capacity of their existing building they need to bring in a couple more airplanes,” Hallstrand said.
Currently, Amazon and its contracted carriers have 12 arrivals and 12 departures scheduled per day, according to the airport’s Assistant Director Adam Lunn. This number can fluctuate a bit depending on weather and other factors.
“They have communicated to us they are looking at four additional flights in and four additional flights out,” Lunn said. “They have not confirmed that with a published schedule.”