Category Archives: Aviation

Ukrainian Antonov Airlines, in cooperation with Air Charter Service, provided an urgent air cargo transport solution to move oversized solar turbine from San Bernandino, USA to Avalon, Australia on board an AN-124-100 aircraft. The cargo journey took four days, said an official release. “The total weight of the cargo was 67 tonnes including additional equipment and solar turbine weighting 35.5 tonnes, 11.33 metre length and 3.63 metre height. The size of the cargo determined the AN-124-100 aircraft type is the only option for transporting the unit by air. For loading and unloading the turbine on the stand ,the special ramp system for tall cargoes was used, designed by in-house Antonov`s engineers as well as onboard winch. The external cranes for cargoes up to 100 tonnes were provided by Air Charter Service at both airports.” After successful delivery to the Avalon airport, Air Charter Service took care of transporting the cargo to Winchelsea, Victoria where the solar turbine and additional equipment will be used at the gas compressor expansion plant, the release added. “One of the airports on the route was extremely loaded to provide us a technical stop, therefore we had to find another one urgently,” says Olha Danylova, Commercial Executive, Antonov Airlines. “Taking into consideration the strict deadline on arriving at the destination, both teams showed flexibility and rapidly arranged the alternative route. Thanks to well-coordinated work, we completed the project in time.” Jack Emanuel, Cargo Team Leader, Air Charter Service adds: “We are delighted to work with Antonov Airlines on this crucial project for the energy sector as the global experts for heavy lift cargo transporting. It was a pleasure to work with Antonov`s team, their expertise and …

FedEx Express has expanded its Stuttgart Air Gateway air cargo facility and commissioned a new sorter at the site. The new setup improves handling speed and capacity, helping to meet export and import demand from customers in the region. In addition to more than tripling sorting capacity, the facility offers an almost fivefold increase in capacity for X-raying airfreight shipments, said FedEx. The warehouse, which has been expanded from 800 sq m to 3,000 sq m, also enables better handling of freight and dangerous goods. Stuttgart Air Gateway is currently connected to FedEx’s main European hub, Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, with four outbound and four inbound flights a week. This route is flown with a B737 freighter. An ATR 72 turboprop will be used on another route between Stuttgart and Liège. “The expansion is further evidence of our growth strategy in Europe. We have invested to offer our customers in the region even more service and opportunities. FedEx Express is a strong partner and supports large, medium-sized and smaller companies to grow their business,” said Stefan Dries, FedEx Express vice president ground operations Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Qantas Group plans to add “three additional” Airbus A321 passenger to freighter (P2F) aircraft to help Qantas Freight meet air cargo demand. According to a statement from the Group, the aircraft will help “maintain required capacity despite manufacturer delays to new aircraft” and “burn up to 25% less fuel than the models they replace”. However, the Group did not specify when these freighters would arrive, which company would be converting them, or whether they were already converted, and where they would operate. In August 2022, Qantas Freight said it would increase its domestic fleet with six Airbus A321 passenger to freighter (P2F) aircraft to meet growing e-commerce demand from its customers. The Australian airfreight carrier said the A321s, which are expected to progressively arrive between 2024 and mid-2026, will be sourced on the open market and converted to freighters.

Airport operator Fraport is trialling an autonomous cargo tractor at Frankfurt Airport as it considers automating some operations. The aim of the trial, which will last several weeks, is to determine whether an autonomous vehicle can support regular baggage and cargo operations on the apron. The electric vehicle will operate on an eight km test route within Frankfurt Airport’s secure area, starting in the eastern section of the apron in the baggage handling facility at terminal two, before heading southwards and approaching the future terminal 3. “The trial section is divided into three components, each of which present particular challenges for the autonomous vehicle,” Fraport said. “These include operations inside the baggage handling facility amidst other traffic and people, as well as in the open where there are few other vehicles. “To ensure the outcome reflects real-life conditions with sufficient complexity, the test drives will take place both during the day and at night, in different types of weather.” The vehicle will operate at a maximum speed of 13 km and will tow a maximum of three baggage trailers or two large cargo trailers. A safety driver who has received special training and certification for the project will be present on each test drive in case of emergencies.

Dubai South, the largest single-urban master development focusing on aviation, logistics and real estate, is collaborating with dnata, to enable a digitally driven gate control mechanism for shipments at the cargo handling terminals at Dubai South’s premises, which will be completed in less than a minute,” said a release from Dubai South. “Companies based at the Logistics District freezone and mainland as well as movers who transport goods to other ports will benefit substantially.” The collaboration involves the integration of Masary, an e-gate pass system by Dubai South, with dnata’s appointment & dock management, a system used by dnata’s clients to apply for appointments to access the free zone for the loading and off-loading of shipments, the release said. “This will ensure a seamless, paperless experience for customers entering and exiting Dubai South gates under dnata’s designated appointment system for goods movement, which will enable faster procedures for customers at the gates, emphasising their satisfaction.”

IAG Cargo will be charging extra for using paper air waybills (AWB) as part of its push to become digital first. Customers who choose paper AWB when booking cargo shipments will be charged a £10 cost beginning on April 3rd, whilst converting to electronic air waybill (eAWB) is free, said release. For many years, the air cargo sector depended on paper methods to establish carriage contracts between freight forwarders and airlines. This amounts to about 7,800 tonnes of paper documents handled every year, which is the equivalent of 80 Boeing 747s full of paper. The eAWB not only provides a more sustainable option, but it also provides its consumers with a smooth end-to-end solution that removes the possibility of human mistake. David Rose, Chief Transformation Officer, IAG Cargo said, “We are looking to lead the way with our customers worldwide when it comes to delivering a customer proposition that has quality and sustainability at its core. Our commitment to eAWB will see IAG Cargo significantly reducing paper usage through the cargo journey as we move to eAWB usage across our network. eAWB is the first step of many steps in our ambitious destination digital journey, and we are excited to use the data provided to roll out future digital initiatives that will see us become more sustainable and reliable.” eAWB has been introduced as part of IAG Cargo’s ‘Destination Digital’ strategy to transform the business digitally. With nearly 50% of customers already using eAWB, IAG Cargo is targeting an adoption rate of 100% by the end of 2023.

CEVA Logistics is transitioning all its contract logistics and freight services to low-carbon electricity by 2025. “The commitment will rely on a combination of purchasing low-carbon electricity (renewable and nuclear) from local utility providers and increasing its own production of electricity using rooftop solar panels, which the company will triple by the end of 2025,” said an official release. “In addition, CEVA expects to reach 100 percent LED lighting in its warehousing facilities by the end of 2023.” CEVA finished 2022 with LED lighting in approximately 80 percent of its contract logistics warehouses, the release said. CEVA is also increasing the size of its lithium-ion material handling equipment (MHE) fleet. “The global logistics provider expects its global fleet to reach a 40 percent level in 2023 of eco-MHE (lithium-ion and gel battery units). Beyond the obvious emissions savings in moving away from diesel- or LPG-powered combustion MHE, the company is also seeing an average 16 percent emissions reduction during the charging process when switching from a lead-acid battery MHE to more eco-friendly lithium-ion batteries.” Through a joint investment with real estate partners of approximately $180 million, CEVA plans to triple the surface area of solar panels covering the roofs of its contract logistics warehouses around the world, the release said. “By the end of 2025, the company expects to have approximately 1.8 million square metres of solar panels installed at its facilities — an area 2.25 times the size of France’s famed Palace of Versailles. With this coverage area, the company estimates it will generate approximately 135,000 MWH per year.”

Air cargo tonnages from Asia Pacific to Europe and North America bounced back strongly in the last two weeks from their Lunar New Year holiday lull with some signs of the worldwide market stabilising following months of demand and rate declines, says the latest update from WorldACD Market Data. “After having reported last week that worldwide air cargo tonnages recovered faster and more strongly this year in the initial weeks since the annual Lunar New Year holiday downturn, we see now a continuing stabilising trend for both tonnages and the global average rate, albeit significantly lower than those of early 2022,” the report said. Data for week 7 (February 13-19) show a small decrease (2 percent) in worldwide tonnages compared with the previous week. “On the pricing side, global average rates remained completely stable compared with the previous week, although underlying regional trends can differ strongly, particularly related to Asia Pacific.” Comparing weeks 6 and 7 with the preceding two weeks (2Wo2W), tonnages are up 3 percent above their combined total in weeks 4 and 5, accompanied by a 3 percent increase in capacity whereas average worldwide rates went up by 2 percent based on the more than 400,000 weekly transactions covered by WorldACD’s data.

Ethiopian Airlines has added a freighter service between China and Belgium as it looks to capitalise on growing e-commerce demand. The new service will initially operate twice a week flying between Shenzhen and Liege utilising B777F aircraft.  The carrier said that the service was its first scheduled cargo service from the Chinese airport. The service will mainly carry cross-border e-commerce and other special industrial products. The number of flights will be increased in the future according to cargo demand. The airport now has airlines offering freighter services to 57 destinations. In 2022, the cargo and mail throughput of Shenzhen Airport ranked third in China and in the top 20 globally. The airport processed a total of 1.5m tons of cargo in 2022, a dip of 3.9% on 2021 levels. However, Shenzhen handled 776,000 tons of international airfreight in 2022, a nearly 20% increase for the third year running. Meanwhile, the volume of cross-border e-commerce cargo carried by air from the airport increased by 38.2% year on year.

Baku-based freighter operator Silk Way West Airlines has expanded its scheduled network in the Middle East and Central Asia as it looks to capitalise on rising demand. The expansion sees the carrier operating two scheduled freighter flights a week between Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport and Dammam King Fahd International Airport and Tashkent International Airport. The carrier said that the two locations were “among the most important international air cargo gateways in their respective regions”. Over the past decade, Silk Way West Airlines has served both destinations through charter services, shipping general cargo including textiles, cars, perishables and other goods. “These new routes will also enable Silk Way West Airlines to meet its strategic goals of serving increased international demand and significantly expanding its global network,” the carrier said. Silk Way West Airlines vice president CIS and Central Asia Vugar Mammadov said: “The demand for transportation to the Middle East and on the Middle Corridor route continues to rise. As a result, Azerbaijan is gaining increasing importance as a central logistics hub. “We are pleased that now we can offer our customers regular flights from Baku to Dammam and Tashkent. We will continue to increase the number of flights we operate, as well as the destinations we serve, as Silk Way West Airlines continues to expand opportunities for its customers around the world.”