Celebi India announced its appointment as the official ground handling partner at Chennai airport. The company will provide complete ground handling support to scheduled and non-scheduled airlines at domestic and international terminals. Its appointment has been accepted by the Airport Director at the Airports Authority of India, Chennai. Murali Ramachandran, CEO of Celebi India, said, “We understand the needs of the airlines and the growing aviation industry in India and are well equipped to meet current and future airline and passenger traffic. We will provide the much awaited quality ground handling services at Chennai airport and develop a sustainable ecosystem to meet the larger goal of the aviation industry to become carbon neutral in the very near future.” Chennai is the 9th airport in India for Celebi after Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Cochin, Ahmedabad, Goa (Manohar International airport, Mopa), and Kannur. Recently, Celebi won the bridge-mounted equipment services contract for Bengaluru airport and introduced 100% electric, air-conditioned tarmac coaches for passenger transportation at the Delhi International Airport.

Lufthansa Cargo will begin using lightweight nets to secure cargo pallets to save weight on flights and reduce CO2 emissions from January onwards. The “Pallet Net Zero” nets made by AmSafe Bridport, which Lufthansa Cargo will be using through its subsidiary Jettainer, weigh between nine and eleven kilograms, which is less than half the weight of a conventional net made of polyester fibres. Pallet Net Zero is made out of a bio-based fibre – a pioneering material extracted from renewable bio-based raw materials. The weight reduction of the new nets is largely achieved by the high tensile strength of the special fibre. The reduced weight of the transport nets saves Lufthansa Cargo around 140 tons of fuel and therefore around 440 tons of CO2 per year, said the airline. Lufthansa Cargo will be Jettainer’s first customer to use the new, lighter Pallet Net Zero solution. The ULD expert will make around 2,000 nets available to the airline, which will be used for aluminum pallets. The net will be fixed to one side of the pallet to minimise the loss rate for these nets, said Jettainer.

Aimed at boosting air connectivity in the coastal Indian state of Goa, the newly-inaugurated Mopa International Airport, or Manohar International Airport, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is ready to start operations on January 5th next year. According to several reports, the new airport has the potential to serve as a significant logistics hub. It could directly connect several domestic and international destinations. Efficient multimodal connectivity is also planned for the airport. The first phase includes the construction of a single three-and-a-half kilometer runway (09/27) alongside integrated passenger terminal buildings and a cargo terminal. The airport may officially announce about the cargo carriers which will operate at the new airport and its dedicated cargo facility soon. “The New Goa International Airport shall be starting operations from January and will begin with domestic cargo operations by February followed by International Cargo operations by March. There is great potential for Air Cargo Agents in the coming months and would warrant having a Goa and Pune Region team,” said the minister. “This airport shall cater and increase the exports of perishable items and also the pharma products which had to be transported to Mumbai and other international airports,” the minister added.

Customs Broker License Management System (CBLMS), an e-application making interaction with Customs Brokers Paperless, Faceless and Contactless was launched recently by Vivek Johri, Chairman, CBIC. It is the first ever CB license that has been issued through the CBLMS portal. The members of Brihanmumbai Custom Brokers’ Association (BCBA) congratulated CBIC on the landmark initiative launched and implemented across India which marks a major step towards paperless processes of Customs Broker’s Licensing & registration formalities. The members also focused on increasing trade facilitation in India with Johri. BCBA also addressed the matters relating to improvising trade measures in line with the newly implemented National Logistics Policy for promoting fast track clearance and safeguarding the interest of the Customs Brokers. BCBA pledged full support to the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making India a 5 trillion dollar economy by year 2025. They suggested measures for improvising the Faceless assessment, Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Scheme, as well as simplifying the processes for Exports from India to support the Make in India Initiative. The trade body meet was organized on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Customs Act, at Mumbai Customs House.

To strengthen its sustainable logistics initiative, Bolloré Logistics India is deploying a fleet of trucks running on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) at its facilities in Mumbai, Bangalore & Chennai. Several studies conducted on CNG claim that the use of this alternative fuel can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5% to 16%. Investing in CNG is essential for Bolloré Logistics India to reduce air pollution as CNG produces far fewer particulate emissions than diesel trucks, said an official release. “Developing low carbon impact transportation plans has become essential for road transportation. Bolloré Logistics India is actively investing in more sustainable transport solutions.” said Pranay Meshram, Road Transport Manager, India. For now, there are four CNG trucks which are carrying out intra-urban distribution operations in India. To date, the trucks have covered more than 35,000 km, reducing CO2 emissions by 6.5 tons. The company aims to gradually increase its CNG truck fleet to connect more locations by 2023. The CNG trucks have a total capacity of 9.5 metric tons & 42 cubic metres, allowing the distribution of high-tech & luxury products throughout India. To further reduce the environmental impact of the logistics sector, Bolloré Logistics has improved its processes by using an algorithm that allows the grouping of transported products. More than 270 orders have been grouped in this way, which has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 9 tons in the western Indian states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. This program will be extended across all subsidiaries by Q1 of 2023 & is expected to reduce emissions by 20 tons per year.

Freight forwarders are taking a ‘wait and see’ approach before making long-term air cargo capacity commitments as airlines saw demand drop 2% month-over-month in November as general airfreight volumes dipped for a ninth consecutive month, dashing hopes of a late peak season boost, according to the latest weekly market by CLIVE Data Services, part of Xeneta. Chargeable weight in November was -8% versus the same month of 2021, although the 1% reduction in global air cargo capacity, as airlines adapted to winter schedules, contributed to a stable ‘dynamic load factor’ of 61%, on a par with the previous month, based on the volume and weight perspectives of cargo flown and capacity available. Load factor, however, continued to sit well below last year’s extraordinary peak season. For instance, Europe to North America load factor in the week leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday sat at 74% this year, down 12% from the same week last year. Amidst so much market uncertainty, industry parties are increasingly choosing shorter-term deals as they wait to see how business trends unfold in the coming months. Distribution of contract rates for shippers shows commitments of over three-month contracts hardly exist in Q4 this year.

Saudi Arabia is pushing ahead with the construction of 19 logistic service zones worth nearly 29 billion Saudi riyals ($7.7 billion) in investment value in partnership with the private sector. Saudi has already established several such zones at key seaports and has invited the private sector for similar projects, said official reports. The country aims to ‘create a solid logistics base’ to become one of the largest hubs in this field in line with the country’s economic diversification scheme ‘Vision2030.’ Heavy investment in logistics and transport in the Kingdom has largely expanded the sector and boosted its contribution to GDP to 16 percent in 2021 and now the country is working to establish 19 logistics zones in Riyadh, Jeddah, King Abdullah Economic City and other areas in the Kingdom. Tese projects provide investment opportunities to the private sector worth nearly 29 billion riyals, reports added.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $250 million policy-based loan to support Indian government’s wide-ranging reforms that aim to improve and modernise the country’s logistics infrastructure, increase efficiency, and reduce the cost. The loan will fund the first sub-programme of the Strengthening Multimodal and Integrated Logistics Ecosystem Program, said an official press release. The sub-programme supports the government’s efforts to create a comprehensive policy, planning, and institutional framework at the federal, state, and city levels. This will rationalise India’s high cost of logistics and reduce greenhouse gas emission, the release added. To facilitate multimodal logistics, the sub-programme promotes reforms that reduce cumbersome processes that businesses face to obtain approvals for cargo clearance as well as the creation of digital systems that integrate regulations, processes, and logistics data. The programme promotes the facilitation of cargo movement through coastal shipping and inland waterways to strengthen multimodal transport. The programme also supports the ministry of commerce and industry’s initiatives to issue standards for warehousing, which would encourage operational efficiency and private sector investment.

Quikjet Airlines has successfully relaunched its own freighter flights with a leased B737-800(BCF) commencing revenue services in early December. The airline took delivery of VT-AAZ (formerly N120MN) (msn 30643) in August while reapplying for its air operator’s certificate after a change in its shareholder structure. The carrier (VT-AAZ) initiated revenue flights with a Hyderabad Int’l – Coimbatore – Hyderabad – Bangalore Int’l – Hyderabad rotation. FlightRadar24 ADS-B data shows the plane has flown a significant number of sectors within India since then, said official reports. The 20.74-year-old jet comes on a lease from Arena Aviation Capital via the MAM Aircraft Leasing 30643 (Ireland) DAC special purpose vehicle. Founded in 2007, QuikJet formerly operated an ATR72-200(F), B737-300(F), and B737-400(SF) but suspended in-house flying in 2017 when it retired its B737-400SF. At the time, QuikJet was majority owned by ASL Aviation Holdings but that group has since sold down its stake to minority status and now supply-chain mogul Cyrus Guzder owns 51% of the business.

According to the E-Handbook on Warehousing Standards, released recently by the Warehousing Association of India, ‘Digital Twins’ and ‘Industry 4.0’, can transform the future of warehousing in India and enhance logistics efficiency and cost-competitiveness. Digital twins in warehousing lets companies design, simulate, and test new warehouse operations and product movements virtually, before starting up new sites or making changes within existing sites. As technology drives innovation, the warehouse of today will transform into an increasingly digital environment in future, it stated. WMS enables consistent performance at a low cost. Change will be driven with real- time transaction processing, optimised storage, and selection strategies, directed task management, and integrated labour standards. Operational and strategic teams need to be able to make accurate decisions about ongoing situations. Real-time visibility provides actionable information that can help swiftly adapt plans, improve processes, minimize threats and maximize opportunities. With the advent of Industry 4.0, technology has aided visibility and real-time decisions. From RFID tags, IoT sensors and cloud- based management systems, the real-time supply chain has enabled greater agility and flexibility via machine learning and predictive data analysis. The advantages conferred by supply chain visibility may be individually small, but they can be applied to every movement, operation and transaction in a supply chain, thereby saving time and creating efficiencies that add up to significant savings.