Category Archives: Aviation

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.

Qatar Airways Cargo announces Chapter 4 of its WeQare sustainability initiative which is dedicated to the 2,873 diverse individuals who are the face and heart of the airline, and the main reason for its success. “Strength in numbers is one thing – whether this is revenue figures or number of employees,” said Guillaume Halleux, Chief Officer Cargo at Qatar Airways. “Yet, the true strength, the core, and the success of a company is made up by the individual attitudes and aptitudes of its people. Naturally, since air cargo is an international business, Qatar Airways Cargo is blessed with a highly international family of employees. Our staff come from close to 100 different countries, and altogether speak more than 40 languages. We are also very diverse in age range, from 18 to 65,” he added. “Every one of us at Qatar Airways Cargo comes with their individual strengths, life experiences, cultural background, and job responsibilities, yet we are all united in one goal: ensuring the success and satisfaction of our customers. That goal is achieved precisely because of our different skills and approaches. Diversity is a proven driver for positive performance, and Qatar Airways Cargo is living proof of this. WeQare’s Chapter 4 is a celebration of our diversity,” Halleux further added.

To expand network in Asia, Indonesia headquartered MY Indo Airlines has added a Boeing B737-800F freighter to its fleet. The scheduled and charter cargo airline is based in Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta and focuses on the domestic and international cargo sector. MY Indo Airlines stated in a post, “MY Indo Airlines become the first freighter operator in Indonesia to operate the B737-800F series. It will provide more cargo capacity for our customer and at the same time offer the opportunity to expand our network within Asia.” Also the airline has B737-200F, B737-300F and B737-400F aircraft. The airline aims to expand its network beyond Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei to other parts of Asia, including China and Japan, said the post.

Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL) has selected ICAD Holding Ltd. as Master System Integrator (MSI) consultant for the development of Noida International Airport (NIA). ICAD will support NIA with the systems integration design, integration program management and integration of ICT and Airport Systems. ICAD will also lead the core airport systems implementation and integration. NIA will set a new benchmark as a digital airport, with the implementation of latest technology to provide a seamless flow throughout the airport. This will be supported by integrated systems, services and use of technologies such as indoor navigation, passenger flow management, and data analytics. The digital environment to be set up at NIA includes paperless digital processing across all checkpoints in line with the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation’s DigiYatra Policy. Christoph Schnellmann, CEO, YIAPL, said, “We are pleased to partner with ICAD to bring alive our vision of a digital airport. NIA will be a modern, efficient, and customer-friendly airport, offering the highest levels of convenience and ease of making connections to the passengers and commercial benefits to its partners.”

SpiceXpress has transported 100 tonnes of lychee from Darbhanga in Bihar to various parts of the country this season, which is four times the quantity carried as compared to the last year, stated a release. Ajay Singh, CMD, SpiceJet, said, “We have transported 100 tonne of lychee from Darbhanga to various parts of the country till date. Timely transport of fresh produce is essential to minimise post-harvest loss and ensure availability in markets across the country. We are happy that through our cargo network, fresh produce is being transported timely and efficiently, helping the farming community maximise profits and access more markets across the country.” SpiceXpress has been transporting farm and agro products such as shrimps, fish seeds, fresh fruits, and vegetables to various domestic and international destinations to help farmers with timely access to markets and boost the export of agro products from the country.

To offer cost-savings options and flexibility to customers, Turkish Cargo has launched three new shipment services namely TK SMART, developed for general cargo transportation and to offer cost-effective advantages for shipments without weight or size limitations, TK PREMIUM, designed for critical shipments requiring a short journey time, with short Latest acceptance time (LAT, and to provide minimum connections and fast delivery. Shipments within the scope of TK PREMIUM are transported as flown as booked (FAB) to save time. TK URGENT offers the fastest solution for urgent shipments and provides the opportunity to transport with capacity guarantee, minimum connection, and shortest possible journey time. Shipments with TK URGENT service will be carried as FAB and with a 100 per cent money-back guarantee under certain terms and conditions.

Qatar Airways Cargo announced its plans to achieve sustainability and profitability in the next few years by acquiring Boeing 777-8 freighters, equipped with superior and innovative features. “It will help increase our capacity and add new destinations, while giving us an edge on the charter business front,” said Guillaume Halleux, Chief Officer, Cargo. The carrier is also investing in a brand new Cargo Terminal 2 with a capacity of 3.4 million tonnes. This cargo facility will be a safe, smart, and green facility relying heavily on technology and automation for its material handling and offer faster storage and retrieval and cargo processing. “In line with our commitment to security of the cargo and crew, we will be replacing our fleet of more than 10,000 ULDs over the next five years with Safran Cabin’s Fire-Resistant Containers,” added Halleux.

To expand freighter network, new terminal building at Visakhapatnam International Airport is ready to become fully operational. It was being constructed by the AAI at Rs 60 crore. With the expansion of the terminal building, 10,000 sq.m. of space will be added to the existing 20,000 sq.m. Total footfalls in Vizag in 2021-22 were 16,10,483 against 11,13,516 in 2020-21. Aircraft movements were 14,878 up 39.5 per cent over last year, says reports. YSRCP MP MVV Satyanarayana, airport Director Srinivas along with Airport Advisory Committee members’ K Kumar Raja, DS Varma and O Naresh Kumar reviewed the progress of the new building recently. Shifting of the Customs/Immigration computers to new terminal is pending. The spacious building can now facilitate smooth cargo and passenger operations.