Alfor Aviation Plans £50M PTF Conversion Campus at Teesside

Executives from Alfor Aviation have advanced plans for a £50 million passenger-to-freighter (PTF) conversion campus at Teesside International Airport (MME), following an August 12, 2026, site visit to finalize the relocation of the company’s global headquarters.

The planned facility is forecast to begin operations by the end of 2027. According to a press release from Teesside International Airport, the site will have the capacity to convert up to 24 Cargo-Aircraft annually and is expected to create 250 permanent, high-skilled jobs.

Advancing the Teesside conversion campus

The site visit follows a 50-year lease agreement signed between Alfor Aviation and the airport during the Farnborough International Airshow on July 23, 2026. The new campus will be located within the Teesside Freeport, a designation that played a significant role in the company’s site selection process.

Alfor Aviation Director and CEO Omer Mafa cited the free trade zone as a primary draw for the aerospace business.

“A key factor in our decision was Teesside Freeport. As the UK’s largest free trade zone, it provides exactly the kind of internationally competitive environment innovative aerospace businesses need,” Mafa said.

Teesside International Airport Managing Director Phil Forster noted that the agreement aligns with broader growth strategies for the region, positioning the Airports as a comprehensive hub for maintenance, repair, overhaul, and conversion operations.

The Internal Loading System technology

Alfor Aviation, a joint venture founded in 2023 by Turkish industrial group Alarko and British aviation specialists Foravia, is developing a proprietary conversion method for Airbus A330-200 and Airbus A330-300 aircraft.

The company’s Internal Loading System (ILS) diverges from traditional PTF conversions by eliminating the need to cut a large cargo door into the main deck structure. Instead, the ILS utilizes the aircraft’s existing lower-deck cargo doors. Freight is loaded into the lower hold and transferred to the main deck via two internal elevators.

According to technical details reported by Aviation Week, this approach significantly reduces the structural modifications required, lowering costs and shortening the conversion downtime to a targeted three months.

Alfor is currently modifying its first proof-of-concept widebody aircraft at a facility in Beja, Portugal. Ground testing for the system is scheduled for October 2026, with the company aiming to complete the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) approval process by late 2026.

AirPro News analysis

We view Alfor Aviation’s ILS technology as a highly ambitious structural departure from established widebody conversion programs. Traditional A330 conversions require extensive fuselage reinforcement to accommodate a main-deck cargo door. By bypassing this requirement, Alfor could theoretically offer a faster and less capital-intensive conversion option.

The success of the Teesside campus hinges entirely on securing EASA Certification for the elevator system. Moving heavy freight between decks introduces novel weight, balance, and structural load considerations that regulators will scrutinize closely. If the October 2026 ground tests validate the concept and EASA grants approval, the promised three-month turnaround time would make the Teesside facility a highly competitive player in the European PTF market.

Sources: Teesside International Airport