The service segment has a significant bearing on facility location but the key is to keep the facilities close to the aircraft.
The guiding principle for locating cargo facilities is very simple: keep the cargo buildings very close to the aircraft. For the passenger airlines, this means locating their facilities near the terminal building. Airline cargo facilities require efficient access to the passenger terminal for the purpose of handling belly cargo. Tug distances have cost and other competitive implications for the carriers. The shorter the tug distance, the later in the day a carrier can accept an outbound shipment. This competitive situation exists not only between airlines at the same airport, but also between airlines at different airports. For example, shippers close to one airport have been known to use a more remote airport because it has a later cargo acceptance time. Ideally, tug access roadways should not cross any active taxiways.