Menzies Aviation announces several new ground services contracts in Mexico, where it now operates at 31 airports. The contracts are with American Airlines, Aeroflot, Air Canada, Delta Air Lines, Flair Airlines, Frontier Airlines and TAG Airlines, and represent the strengthening of Menzies’ presence in the Latin American market. Menzies has won two new contracts with American Airlines, for the delivery of passenger, ramp, and cabin cleaning services at Chetumal, and for ramp and cabin cleaning services at Manzanillo. At Cancun, Mexico’s second busiest airport, Menzies is providing Aeroflot with passenger, ramp, and cabin cleaning services. John Redmond, Executive Vice President, Americas, Menzies Aviation, said, “We are excited to further expand our presence in Latin America with these new contract wins across Mexico, which highlight the positive reputation Menzies has built for providing safe, secure, and consistent quality service across the region. We look forward to continuing to strengthen and grow our relationships with each of these airlines in the future.”

MEX Storage Systems was conferred with the ‘Best Storage Systems Manufacturer’ Award at the recently held India Cargo Awards, the country’s topmost supply chain awards which helps create a platform to recognise those behind the success of the cargo and logistics industry. The award was presented by Amrit Lal Meena, Special Secretary (Logistics), Union Department of Commerce and Piyush Srivastava, Senior Economic Advisor, Union Ministry of Civil Aviation. The firm is one of the leading heavy duty warehouse rack manufacturers in Delhi and Noida. The company designs and manufactures bespoke heavy duty racks to manage the floor space and ease the operations.

Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), one of the biggest trading hubs in the region, has started construction of its Jafza Logistics Park as demand for warehousing units continues to increase due to the e-commerce boom fuelled by the Covid-19 pandemic. “The Jafza Logistics Park is scheduled for completion next year,” read the statement. “The purpose-built trading and logistics development will accommodate the growing number of warehousing, processing and logistics activities carried out in Dubai,” as per the statement. “We recognise the role the logistics sector plays in enabling the growth of various industries around the globe,” said Abdulla Bin Damithan, Chief Executive and MD, DP World UAE and Jafza. “As the UAE continues to grow into a global processing and re-distribution gateway, we experienced a spike in demand for the logistics and warehousing space. We are building the Jafza Logistics Park in response to the increase in demand and to give an impetus to the development of the UAE’s logistics sector,” he added.

National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will construct a transport corridor of the northern Ring Road project. It will be jointly constructed with the state government. As per the deliberations, out of 360-metre-wide Ring Road, NHAI will construct 70-metre corridor, while Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) will construct 135-metre development corridor on either side of the Ring Road. A senior JDA official said, “The NHAI will bear the acquisition and construction cost of the land for building transport corridor. The chief secretary has also mentioned the same in the recent letter.” The cost of 45-km (Bagrana to Achrol) project is pegged at Rs 2,887 crore. The Ring Road project will comprise a six-lane access-controlled expressway and a three-lane service road on both sides. The northern corridor will also be developed on the lines of the 47km southern corridor (Agra Road to Ajmer Road) and the agencies will acquire 360-metre wide strip of land.

Pickrr announced the launch of ‘Fastrr,’ a multi-layered AI-powered advanced checkout solution. Fastrr provides customers with a seamless and better shopping experience with one-click easy checkout. The solution harnesses over 100+ data points, allowing sellers to have better data analytics based on consumers’ purchasing patterns and payment modes to mitigate the issue of cart abandonment. Fastrr’s AI-powered address verification reduces fraud and wrong address-related issues by 50 per cent and further speeds up delivery time resulting in 80 per cent increased customer satisfaction. It leverages the data from Pickrr Predict to analyze pin codes that have higher-order return chances, which reduces RTO by 3 per cent for sellers. Fastrr enables a speedy and secure checkout experience with more than 90 per cent EDD accuracy.

Shazul Mohammed, Director, Fast Forward Logistics was presented with the ‘Best Logistics Service Provider – Solar Products’ award at the recently held India Cargo Awards, India’s top supply chain, India’s topmost supply chain awards which helps create a platform to recognise those behind the success of the cargo and logistics industry. The award was conferred by Amrit Lal Meena, Special Secretary (Logistics), Union Dept of Commerce and Piyush Srivastava, Senior Economic Advisor, MoCa. Mohammed said, “Awards do enhance the legitimacy of industries; such events boost morale by acknowledging a company’s accomplishments. During the pandemic, logistics have grown at a rapid pace. It is a vital component of a successful supply chain that helps businesses, production, shipping, and warehousing, among other things, enhance their revenues and profitability.”

APM Terminals Pipavav has commenced a new service ‘Jade Express’ mainly for transhipment cargo. The weekly service, introduced by Maersk, will connect Port Pipavav to Port Qasim. Jade Express connects Pipavav perfectly in time for the MECL service (west bound for the North America) and provides same day connectivity on the FI3 service (for the far east). The first vessel M.V. IRENES RAY -215S was berthed at Pipavav in March bringing in enhanced connectivity to our customers from Rajasthan, Gujarat, New Delhi, and Punjab. The new service is a testimony to port infrastructure and services that is a preferred gateway to Indian Northwest.

Air Canada has purchased two new Boeing 767-300F freighters that are due to be delivered this year. The two factory-built freighters will be in addition to the eight Boeing 767-300s that are being converted for Air Canada Cargo operations. Earlier this month, Air Canada Cargo added its second B767-300ER freighter conversion. Air Canada Cargo’ first quarter 2022 revenue is up 42 per cent to $398m from the first quarter of 2021. Jason Berry, Vice President, Cargo at Air Canada, said, “This announcement is a further signal of our long-term commitment to freighters as we continue to adapt and grow at Air Canada Cargo. These additional factory-built 767-300F aircraft will allow Air Canada Cargo to speed up the expansion of its freighter fleet, helping provide reliable, dedicated service to key cargo routes around the world, further bolstering the capacity provided by Air Canada’s mainline fleet.”

dnata and Qatar Airways Cargo have extended their partnership in Belgium. The multi-year extension of the contract will see dnata continue to deliver a range of cargo handling and road feeder services for the airline from its state-of-the-art facility at Brussels Airport (BRU). Qatar Airways Cargo currently operates a mix of 15 freighter and passenger flights each week to and from the Belgian capital. In 2021, dnata handled 25 per cent more cargo for the airline at BRU than in the previous year. Stef Vanbinst, Managing Director of dnata Belgium, said, “We are proud to have earned the trust and loyalty of Qatar Airways Cargo with our reliable and safe services. We continue to invest in our operations to consistently provide world-class quality to the airline and its customers.”

Jet Freight Logistics announced ‘Mission Excel,’ a business transformation initiative which promises to bring 5x revenue growth in next five years. This business initiative is built on the 4 ‘Ps’ of business expansion – Product expansion, People & culture, Process automation, and Promotion of business. Under Mission Excel, the company plans to expand its wings from air/ ocean forwarding to last-mile delivery specialisation, adapting 4PL approach, offering surface transport along with custom clearance, and warehousing. Jet Freight has recently announced use of electric vehicle for its last mile deliveries promising sustainable future and environment-friendly approach ensuring seamless deliveries for customers.