Category Archives: Aviation

The construction work of new Greenfield airport in Dholera, Gujarat has started construction at a cost of Rs. 1,305 crore. Dholera International Airport Company Limited (DIACL) is a JV venture comprising the AAI, the Government of Gujarat, and the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust. Dholera airport will serve the Dholera Special Investment Zone (DSIR) with passenger and cargo traffic and is intended to become a freight hub for the industrial region. This airport will service the surrounding region as well as Ahmedabad as a secondary airport. Dholera’s New Greenfield airport is located 80 km from Ahmedabad International Airport. The airport is scheduled to open in 2025-26, with the yearly cargo flow likely to be 20,000 tonnes in 2025-26, rising to 2,73,000 tonnes in 20 years.

FedEx Express has launched a new route between Asia and Europe, connecting Beijing to the FedEx Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport in Paris, France for the first time with 10 connections per week via Osaka, Japan, said a release. This new route will benefit businesses as the cut-off time for same day outbound shipments from Beijing to Europe will be extended, offering more time for customers to arrange their shipments, the company stated. This new route will also provide a one day a week direct connection between Fedex’s CDG Hub and Singapore, offering customers enhanced weekly inbound capacity of almost 50 tonnes.

To capture the boom in air cargo demand driven mainly by the pandemic, IndiGo will receive its first freighter plane. The dedicated cargo jet, registered as 9H-AMQ, is an Airbus SE A321 that has previously been used by carriers, including Aeroflot PJSC, Lithuanian Group Avion Express UAB and Thomas Cook Airlines. An IndiGo representative said delivery to India was likely to be in August, although a precise date has yet to be finalised. During the airline’s FQ results call, IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta said that freight increased by 31 per cent y-o-y. “Cargo is strong, and as per indications, cargo will remain strong in the future,” Dutta said.

IndiGo successfully transported a live organ – a donated heart – from Vadodara to Mumbai on flight 6E 6734. IndiGo also supported the Global Hospitals’ heart transplant team in arranging logistic support to transport the live organ in Vadodara and Mumbai. IndiGo team safely transferred the live heart from the operation theatre (OT) in Vadodara to the Global Hospitals OT in Mumbai in 2hrs 22mins, says an official statement. This was well within the stipulated (ischemic time) limit of 3 hrs for the live organ transfer. The team from Global Hospitals, Parel, operated in a hospital in Vadodara to harvest the heart, which was then transferred to the hospital in Mumbai for a successful transplant, saving a life. Ronojoy Dutta, Chief Executive Officer and Wholetime Director, IndiGo said, “We are honoured to support the team of Global Hospitals in transferring the live organ (heart), on time to the recipient through safe and efficient logistics. Every life is precious, and IndiGo appreciates the opportunity to have contributed to saving one. I would also like to congratulate our airport staff at Vadodara and Mumbai and crew members who contributed to this effort.”

To connect with global customers, Cargolux has reportedly added a new service from the Republic of Ireland to the US. The flight will operate on a routing of Los Angeles, Seattle and Shannon once per week utilising one of the carrier’s B747 freighters, said carrier in a statement. The inaugural flight to Shannon landed on June 9. The introduction of Shannon is an opportunity for Cargolux to meet growing customer demand and expand its presence in the British Isles, the carrier further explained. “This new frequency is a welcome development for Cargolux to connect with its global customers and expand services in the area. Shannon is a thriving commercial gateway, and we look forward to building our partnerships in the region,” said Domenico Ceci, Cargolux’s Executive Vice President Sales & Marketing. “This regular service cements the airline’s commitment to business in the region,” the carrier added.

Chennai airport is working on building a masterplan to expand across Adyar River to handle more cargo and passengers per annum. According to official reports, the airport is keen to hire a consultant to prepare the masterplan for the next 50 years. The masterplan is expected to be ready within six months. Dr Sharad Kumar, Director, Chennai Airport said in a statement, “The airport expansion will take place along with the proposed second airport. Modernization of the airport will enable it to handle 35 million passengers, and after expansion, it will handle 50 to 60 million passengers. We will build terminals and cargo complexes. We should have the handling capacity before demand peaks.”

SpiceJet has secured Regulated Agent Third country (RA3) and Air Cargo or Mail Carrier operating into the Union from a Third Country Airport (ACC3) certifications for easy and fast transportation of mails and cargo via its own airplanes under Air Operator Permit. They will allow the airline to handle cargo and mail of other airlines to or via the EU and the UK, stated an official release. In addition, these certifications confirm that SpiceJet meets the security needs for screening air cargo and mail entering the EU and UK under their supply chain initiative. Ajay Singh, CMD, SpiceJet in a statement said, “The new certifications will help SpiceJet gain new business opportunities from global airlines, freight forwarders, cargo agents, international couriers as it allows us to seamlessly carry cargo both to and via the EU and UK.”

To cater to the growing demand and increasing flow of air traffic in the Saurashtra region of Rajkot, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has undertaken work for the construction of the new greenfield airport in Rajkot. According to AAI, with project cost of Rs 1,405 crores, the new airport is envisioned to be a transportation hub. Spread over 2534 acres, the new airport will have modern cargo and passenger facilities. The location of new airport is approximately 30 km from Rajkot city and on Rajkot-Ahmadabad highway. The city side area of the airport will also be developed for adequate parking. Runway length is planneed for 3040m for serving AB-321 type of aircraft which will be capable of parking 14 aircraft at a time.

SEKO Logistics selects e-commerce logistics company, MyFBAPrep, for its service partner, Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA). The deal will include co-branded products and expands SEKO’s offering to include FBA fulfilment services. This partnership gives MyFBAPrep’s client roster of Amazon aggregators access to SEKO’s global fulfilment warehouses and an additional 4 million sq ft of new warehouse space globally. In addition to adding to their US footprint, SEKO brings a network that reaches into Europe, Canada, and the Asia-Pacific regions, said an official release. David Emerson, Senior Vice President of e-commerce at SEKO Logistics, said in a statement, “We are excited to partner with MyFBAPrep as they are a great fit with our overall e-commerce strategy and further our mission of being small enough to care and big enough to scale globally. Through this strategic partnership, we’ll be able to combine our extensive industry insights while leveraging MyFBAPrep’s technology-enabled platform to seamlessly service a new cohort of the largest Amazon aggregators and Amazon sellers that are driving the ecommerce market to record highs. We look forward to expanding our Amazon capabilities with MyFBAPrep.”

Etihad Cargo is all set to provide additional capacity to key destinations in the coming months across Asia, Africa, and Europe. From July, Etihad Cargo will continue to operate its Boeing 777 freighter network with flights across Chicago, Dhaka, Frankfurt, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Kenya, Milan, Riyadh, Saigon, and Shanghai, the carrier said in an official statement. Martin Drew, Senior Vice President – Global Sales & Cargo, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “Etihad is operating additional flights during the busy summer period, which will introduce additional belly capacity across key routes for Etihad Cargo’s customers. “Cargo transported during the season will benefit from Etihad Cargo’s extensive road feeder service across the US, Europe, and Asia,” added Drew. The carrier will also benefit from additional passenger flights on its Boeing 787 and Airbus 350 with 35 direct flights to London Heathrow, seven direct flights to Bangkok, and five flights to Bangkok via Phuket. “Etihad will offer daily flights to Dublin, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur. Additionally, more weekly flights to Barcelona, Brussels, Johannesburg, Madrid, Tokyo, and Vienna have been added to the carrier’s summer schedule,” adds the statement.