HEBRON, Ky. — Amazon’s new Air Hub operations are officially open for business in Northern Kentucky.

The $1.5 billion investment at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport will serve as Amazon Air’s primary U.S. hub for its air cargo network. The $1.5 billion figure represents infrastructure and compensation to its employees.

One of the largest companies in the world said CVG is an ideal partner.

There are currently packages flying in on planes from New York City, shipping out to the local community in Northern Kentucky and Seattle. The air hub is Amazon's newest and largest operations facility.

The 800,000 square foot facility will create 2,000 new jobs by the end of the year, according to Amazon. The employees at this site will support unique jobs such as load planning for Amazon Air’s aircraft fleet, coordinating package sortation and roles that help manage robotics technology onsite.  

The sorting facility, which is up and running, features robotic arms and mobile drive units to sort packages.

Director of Operations Adrian Melendez explained what this means for customers.

“It enables us to move packages across the country faster. When our customers in Florence or New York City want a package, maybe that item is in a warehouse in California. Trucks are not gonna be able to get that to the customer tomorrow or the day after that. What we enable is the ability to move that item across the county, so if somebody needs a thing for their household, they’ll be able to get it pretty quickly,” Melendez said.

Amazon has long ties to the region, and Melendez said the central location in the country makes it an ideal hub.

He said online shopping was already becoming more commonplace before the COVID-19 pandemic gave people even more of a reason to stay inside and let their items come to them.

For people like his mom, having the option of online shopping can potentially be life-saving.

“She had really bad colon cancer. For her treatment she was unable to leave her home during the middle of this pandemic, for fear of getting COVID with a weakened immune system. Amazon, for her, was able to get products that she needed from around the country, so she didn’t have to get out and risk getting sick,” Melendez said.

Amazon is also planning to soon begin the installation of solar panels on top of the building. All of the electricity generated will be put back into the grid for the local community.

Construction is still ongoing for a new ramp to support Amazon’s planes. It should be done in October.

Since 2010, Amazon has created more than 18,000 jobs in Kentucky and invested more than $20 billion across the state, including infrastructure and through compensation, Amazon said.