Menzies said it had completed the re-structuring of its loss-making UK cargo business, having exited four facilities and concentrated its maincargo offering on London Heathrow.
Planes will taxi away from main airport facilities before loading precious cargo, such as art and jewels, which will take only a few minutes, according to the airport.
They are semi-submersible heavy lift ships, which is to say that the ships are designed to be ballasted down so that their main decks go underwater, allowing their cargo to be floated aboard.