Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI) has constituted a new board for a term of 2 consecutive years 2022-2024 at the Annual General Meeting held on June 29, 2022. Yashpal Sharma, MD – Skyways Group has been appointed as the President of ACFI for this period. Cyrus Katgara, the past President handed over the mantle to new board. Katgara will be part of the current board as Ex Officio. He will continue supporting ACFI to achieve its goals and help boost the Indian economy. The ACFI’s objective is to steer and promote the development of air cargo logistics industry in India and make it at par with the best Air Cargo ecosystems of the world. ACFI has been working very closely with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on its vision to achieve the goal of taking Indian air space to 10 million MT by 2030-31 from the current 3.1 million MT.

IAG Cargo has partnered with Bolloré Logistics for the purchase of 1m litres of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The SAF will be delivered in two shipments—in July 2022 and November 2022. IAG was the first European airline group to commit to having SAF comprise 10 per cent of its fuel by 2030. In a release, Philippe de Crecy, Vice President, airfreight, Europe, Bolloré Logistics said, “We are committed to reduce our Scope 3 CO2 emissions created by the execution of transport by 30 per cent by 2030 as compared to 2019. This pledge is significant to us, but it’s also significant for our clients so they can achieve their carbon emission reduction goals.”

For the first time, Silk Way West Airlines has moved away from an exclusive Boeing fleet and has placed an order with Airbus for two A350 wide-bodied freighters. Airbus plans to deliver the freighters to Silk Way West during the 2027-28. The airline also has rights to increase its orders by two aircraft. With this deal, Airbus now has 33 preliminary orders and commitments for the A350 freighter program it launched late last year. The decision is another win for Airbus as it makes it challenges Boeing’s dominance in the production freighter market.

India is one of the top perishable markets for Etihad Cargo and the carrier has the plans to add capacity to key destinations in India, including daily flights to and from Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Kerala. “The trade lanes, originating from North and South Asia, go to the Middle East and Europe. The Middle East and Asia have demand for goods originating from Europe and Africa,” said Tim Isik, Vice President, Etihad Cargo. The carrier’s tonnage in and out of Ahmedabad increased by 254 per cent in 2021 as against 2020. The carrier recorded 65 per cent for Thiruvananthapuram, 40 per cent for Hyderabad, 30 per cent for Bengaluru, 10 per cent for Mumbai and 7 per cent for Delhi. “We are also adding features to our online booking portal,” he added.

Agility announced the opening of a new fulfilment center at the Agility Logistics Park (ALP) in Doha by Lulu Hypermarket, a major retailer in Kuwait. The new 7,400 sq. m. logistics center will act as an exclusive e-fulfillment center and as the logistics hub for the company’s growing e-commerce activity in Kuwait. The new facility includes the latest in smart warehousing technologies such as automated sorting and storage, which organizes all products based on their categories, from fresh and frozen foods to other non-grocery products.

Lufthansa is reactivating the Airbus A380 in response to rise in consumer demand and delayed delivery of ordered aircraft. The carrier will relaunch some of its super jumbo jets such as the Boeing 787 and 777-9 from Summer 2023. The German flag carrier said it is likely to use the long-haul aircraft beginning in the 2023 summer travel season. The company is assessing how many A380s to get back into service and, which destinations the Airbus will fly to. Lufthansa (OTCUS: DKLAY) has 14 of the double-deck aircraft, which are currently parked in warehouses in Spain and France. Six of the aircraft have been sold and eight remain part of Lufthansa’s fleet.

Menzies Aviation has signed three contracts in Southeast Asia and China with Rimbun Air, My Indo and Raya Air. According to an official statement, “A new three-year contract with fast-growing Indonesian cargo and regional passenger airline Rimbun Air will see Menzies handle up to six daily cargo flights for the airline’s two 737-300F aircraft at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK). The win will add an additional 40 flights per week to Menzies’ Jakarta ground services operations thereby increasing the volume handled by the team.” Malaysian cargo carrier Raya Air has selected Menzies to support its operations, starting with four weekly flights, at CGK. Raya Air is a new customer for Menzies, a statement read. Menzies has also won new business with My Indo Airlines, providing freighter, ramp, and cargo services to the airline at Macau International Airport.

Digital freight forwarder, Wiz Freight joined Pharma.Aero as its full-time member. Pharma.Aero is IATA CEIV certified cargo community for airport operators and other air cargo industry stakeholders. Satish Lakkaraju, Senior Vice President, Wiz Freight said, “We are excited to be joining Pharma. Aero as a full-time member. We are working towards maintaining a cold chain, which is unbroken to ensure patient safety till the last mile of delivery. Pharma.Aero is a platform to collaborate with different stakeholders in the pharma supply chain, and allows us to contribute to the overall development of a safe and reliable cold chain for pharma products.’’ Jeremy Mitchell, Vice-Chair, Pharma.Aero said, “We are pleased to welcome Wiz Freight as a full-time member of Pharma.Aero. The role of a freight forwarder is vital in the supply chain of temperature-sensitive pharma logistics, and we hail the addition of freight forwarders to Pharma.Aero. We look forward to working with Wiz Freight.”

FedEx in its latest reports noted its financial year results and outlined expectations of ongoing supply chain disruption, expressing a slow return of air bellyhold capacity and lower growth levels for the coming fiscal year. According to the reports, in the fiscal year ending May 31, the express giant saw revenues increase by 11.3 per cent year on year to $93.5bn and operating income increased by 6.6 per cent to $3.8bn on the back of higher yields across its express, ground and freight businesses. Looking ahead, the coming 12 months are expected to see freight demand reduce with volumes expected to grow by a low single digit. Brie Carere, CCO, FedEx said, “We anticipate consumers will keep spending and their spending will continue tilting towards services from goods. We expect more consumers to return to stores. With this backdrop, we do expect pressure on B2C volumes.” She added that the latest Purchasing Managers Index showed a sharp decline and that inventory restocking is slowing after a build up last year and earlier this year. “This will dampen freight demand,” she said on a positive note.

Korean Air has been recertified by IATA’s Center of Excellence for Independent Validators Pharma (CEIV Pharma) for air transport of pharmaceuticals. Korean Air provides customised cold chain services for a wide array of products that call for dynamic requirements and conditions. The airline transports pharmaceuticals such as vaccines, lab reagents and serums, and fresh products including flowers, fruits, seafood, through its “Specialised-Pharma” and “Specialised-Fresh” services. Through a joint investment with Incheon International Airport Corporation, the airline operates a “Cool Cargo Center” at the airport’s Terminal 2.