UPS Cargo Plane Crash Shakes Louisville's Key Logistics Hub

Wed Nov 05 2025 07:01:22 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

A UPS cargo plane crashed at the company's largest package delivery hub in Louisville, Kentucky, raising concerns over safety as the center processes millions of packages daily.

On Tuesday, a UPS cargo plane crashed at Worldport, the company's major logistics center in Louisville, Kentucky. This facility employs around 20,000 staff and is pivotal to UPS's operations, processing upwards of 2 million packages daily and managing extensive flight operations. As the investigation unfolds, plans for facility expansions and deep ties to global connectivity remain at the forefront for UPS.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (FluxDaily) — A UPS cargo plane crashed Tuesday at Worldport, UPS's prominent logistics hub located at Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville, Kentucky.

Worldport is a colossal facility that employs roughly 20,000 individuals, making UPS the largest employer in the region. Remarkably, this hub processes an astounding 2 million packages every day and is roughly the size of 10 football fields. It boasts a capacity of handling over 416,000 packages per hour, making it a critical artery for UPS's deliveries.

Strategic Location

Strategically positioned in Kentucky, Worldport enables UPS to reach 95% of the U.S. population within a four-hour flight, serving over 200 countries worldwide.

Recent Expansion Initiatives

In light of its growing operations, UPS announced an extensive expansion plan in 2022, which includes a new aircraft hangar capable of accommodating two Boeing 747 aircraft along with eight new flight simulators. Additionally, UPS Healthcare, which specializes in transporting critical medical supplies, is set to receive two new facilities as part of this expansion.

Diverse Flight Operations

Worldport sees more than 300 flights take off and land each day, with room for 125 aircraft on the tarmac. The logistics center employs six different types of planes within the United States, including the MD-11 model that was involved in Tuesday's incident. The fleet also includes Airbus A300-600 and various Boeing aircraft, including models from the 757, 767, and 747 series.

UPS's Rich History

Founded in Seattle in 1907 and rebranded as United Parcel Service in 1919, UPS received Federal Aviation Administration approval to operate its aircraft in 1988. Currently, the company is headquartered in Atlanta and employs approximately 490,000 people globally.