Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has accepted the request of AAICLAS, MIHAN Nagpur, SACT CSMI Airport, Mumbai, KSIEL Calicut to extend the time frame up to March 31st, 2023 for the process of converting of CUDCT to RA facilities at airports, where RA approved but not operationalized due to shortage of screeners as well as where security vetting has been conducted by the standard committee. Previously, CUDCT facilities of AAICLAS at Jammu, Pune, Imphal, Coimbatore, Madurai, Raipur, Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam, Aurangabad, Vijayawada airports and AIASL Chennai airport where no substantive progress was observed were discontinued from Jan 1, 2023. In case of non-conversion to RA within the stipulated time all such CUDCT facilities shall be discontinued.

The Vijayawada division of the South Central Railway (SCR) has been awarded the first-ever contract through e-tendering for developing the new Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal (GCT), on railway land, at Bikkavolu. M/s. Grasim Industries Limited will take up construction of GCT, estimated at a cost of Rs.₹15.24 crore. The Railways shall retain a revenue share of 15% in Terminal Charges and Terminal Access Charges for a period of 35 years after completion of the cargo terminal, said Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Shivendra Mohan, said reports. “The anticipated traffic projections are more than 100 rakes both inward and outwards per annum from the new cargo handling plant. This move shall ensure development of additional terminals for handling the rail cargo and generate extra revenue for the division, the reports added. According to the reports, the firm will begin construction of Gati-Shakti Cargo Terminal within 18 months after receiving the grant of approval of construction from the headquarters.

Canadian freight forwarder FFAF Cargo is expanding in Asia following the launch of a subsidiary in India in the last quarter of 2022. FFAF Logistics India has been launched as India continues to develop in diverse industries, said FFAF Cargo, a subsidiary of Flying Fresh Air Freight. Karthi Baskar has been appointed managing director and a head office has been opened in Bangalore, as well as regional offices in Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi. The company also plans to set up offices in Hyderabad, Pune & Ahmedabad in the second quarter of the next financial year. FFAF Cargo said services in the Indian market consist of airfreight, ocean freight, surface logistics, warehousing, project handling and customs brokerage service with control tower support. Industry focuses will include perishable & cold chain solutions, aerospace, automotive, pharmaceutical, retail, electronics, high technology and manufacturing. Brendan Harnett, group chairman, said, “This is part of our global expansion and supporting our customer outreach to the Asia region. Our newest venture in India reflects our long-term vision of being integral to our client’s logistics solution through innovation and exceptional customer service.” Nelson Coe, executive chairman of FFAF Logistics India and chief executive of FFAF Cargo US, explained that the establishment of the subsidiary is expected to help accelerate the company’s expansion of India to Canada & America’s trade lane developments. “Our strong success is in air freight products globally,” said Coe. “Our plan for India would be to have a strong presence with lean management, cost optimization and leading the sustainability initiatives. We like to express our sincere appreciation to all our customers who have been part of our global journey and request their support for us in …

Shankar Shinde, Chairman, Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations in India (FFFAI) also expressed his views on the export cargo being grounded at the Chennai Airport terminal and said, “Firstly, if you are granting permission to any custodian, licensing any CFA’s or any airports, you must have compliances in place. Once you accredit them or provide them with a license, they will start operating in a trade. Shippers will go to them for getting their goods transported/ exported. Based on that trade goes into negotiations and commercials. The decision to halt the trade which is at it’s peak is not a good decision and already there’s economic crisis going on. We need to support the industry. There should be proper information given well in advance to the forwarders/ terminal operators to prepare for the upcoming situation and take alternate decisions or come up with solutions. There is need to develop adequate infrastructure at the airport but we cant stop the trade. Disturbing a market is not a good sign, there are contracts signed, confidence level between shippers/traders/ customers and carriers may get affected because of such decision. We would request the government to allow time to put regulations in place and now the extension has been granted till March 31st to convert to RA. So, hopefully things will be normal soon.”

Yashpal Sharma, President, Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI) says, “The issue is to convert the CUDCT facilities as Regulated Agent (RA) at various airports by AAICLAS. While the issue has been around for sometime and am sure the timelines were known to everyone but it is imminent that in the interest of hundreds of customers and for no fault of theirs. Someone should have acted in time to find the right way forward. Closing of facilities with no information to customers leaves a very bad impression of Indian Air cargo ecosystem in front of customers in India and overseas. Anyways the current markets are very soft and in domestic the air freight is struggling to keep up with land transport so this will put a hug jolt to the efforts being made by Government and industry to brand Air cargo in front of customers. ACFI had taken up the issue with MOCA and AAICLS immediately on receipt of the notification on 31st Dec 2022 to get immediate attention to resolve the issue and we did get some relief at a few airports on 2nd Jan but many airports are still struggling.” A notification has now been received on an extension for these airports till 31st mar 2023 to convert to RA.

M Afzal Malbarwala, President, The Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI) shares his views on the current situation at the Chennai Airport export cargo terminal and says, “It is very unfortunate, without any prior information, work stopped at Chennai Air cargo terminal. Tamil Nadu produces 80% of the export from South India but Chennai airport share is very less. It is because of lack of development of infrastructure at Chennai airport. All the shipments are moving through Bangalore and Hyderabad. Government has to seriously work on this and has to make Chennai a world class airport. Airlines who are being handled by Air India will now think 100 times to renew their contract. Perishable booked could not be uplifted, who will take the loss.” ACAAI in every forum in Chennai speaks and request for development of cargo but it is heard and closed. No development is done. Even now BCAS has given temporary extension only. Cargo complex has to be developed as per the world-standard, like Bangalore and Hyderabad. Why no action is taken on this. Requesting GOI to take up this seriously and make Chennai also a major airport in South India. Only with this development foreign airlines will bring in more flights and it can grow. Today, compared to other airports, Chennai does not have much flights.” C K Govil, Vice President, Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI) and Managing Director of Activair Airfreight India also adds, “Passenger flights and freighters shouldn’t go empty. This will result in huge losses not only for the airlines but also for the exporters/ shippers. Such a decision would also put the industry’s reputation at stake. Customers/ buyers abroad, without …

Bureau of Civil Aviation and Security (BCAS) had initially withdrawn permission for export cargo terminal at Chennai, AI Airport Services Ltd (AIASL) to accept palletized air cargo, due to which over 100 tonnes of export cargo could not be airlifted at the Chennai airport in the last few days, resulting in major chaos and mismanagement at the airport. The AIASL (formerly known as Air India Air Transport Services Limited) and the Airports Authority of India Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Ltd (AAICLAS) are the two authorized ground handling agents at the Chennai air cargo complex to handle export cargo. Nearly 30 per cent of the cargo is handled by Air India, and the rest, 70 per cent by AAI. This sudden closure of the export cargo terminal at Chennai (AIASL) came as a big setback for all the users. Pune Airport Cargo Update According to a credible source, BCAS has allowed only three airlines namely Air India, SpiceJet and Go Air to start handling Domestic Cargo movements at Pune International Airport from 04.01.2023. Since these 3 airlines have their own Security scanner facility at Pune International Airport, BCAS granted them permission to handle only Domestic Cargo movements. Other airlines are yet to receive permission from the concerned authorities to start handling Domestic Cargo movements from Pune International Airport. Decision regarding International Cargo movements is yet to be received from the concern authorities. So International Cargo movements will get hampered in the coming days and exporters using Pune International Airport for their International movements will have to use other airports to conduct their ongoing movements. “There is a possibility that buyers abroad could cancel orders from Indian exporters. No prior intimation …

Argentina-based airline Aerolineas Argentinas will acquire freighters for the first time this year. The government-owned Buenos Aires-based airline currently has a 100% passenger aircraft fleet, but said in a LinkedIn post on December 30 that it plans to add two B737-800 freighters. “We are going to incorporate two B737-800 freighters destined to carry Argentine and regional products,” said the company. The Buenos Aires-based carrier said the two aircraft are due to arrive in the fleet in the first quarter of 2023, reports Air Cargo News sister title Flight Global, and are part of a deal with Mirgor Group, an Argentine company that produces electronics and automotive components, and exports agricultural products. “In this way, Aerolineas aims in 2023 to grow in the cargo transportation business with aircraft 100% configured for this purpose,” the company said. “In this first stage of operations, Mirgor will be its main partner, using part of the cargo capacity of the new aircraft.” The agreement will allow Mirgor “to continue enhancing its logistical capabilities and strengths and serving its customers better and faster.” According to the airline’s website, its passenger fleet currently includes 26 Embraer 190 aircraft, 39 B737-700 and B737-800 aircraft, 5 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, and 10 Airbus 330-200 aircraft. The carrier said that last year it transported large amounts of agricultural products including cherries, salmon, seeds and meat to the US, Europe the Middle East and other international destinations in the belly cargo of passenger flights. ”The new planes will allow a significant increase in cargo transport capacity,” the airline said. Aerolíneas Argentinas flies to 37 destinations within the country. It also operates flights to 20 international destinations within America and Europe. …

Röhlig Logistics has expanded its global network. Simoes says: “I am very much looking forward to this new challenge. The Brazilian market offers many promising business opportunities, particularly regarding the automotive and industrial sectors. Our focus will be on providing a full scope of high-quality services including air freight, sea freight, road transportation, and customs clearance with an agile operation to ensure a fast response to our customers’ demands.” With the opening of the new subsidiary at this strategically important location, Röhlig Logistics now has 13 own branches operating in Latin America. “As the largest Latin American economy, Brazil offers enormous growth potential. This is especially true for the metropolis of São Paulo, which is one of the most populous cities in the world and has emerged as the country’s major economic powerhouse”, says Ulrike Baum, Chief Human Resource Officer and member of the Global Executive Board at Röhlig Logistics. While the logistics solutions provider has now entered the Brazilian market under its own name, it has been operating in the country for more than 30 years. Ulrike Baum explains, “Up until now, our long-trusted agent Figwal represented us in Brazil. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the whole Figwal team for the fruitful partnership over the past three decades.”

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects a return to profitability for the global airline/ air cargo industry in 2023 as airlines continue to cut losses stemming from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to their business in 2022. Air cargo revenues played a key role in cutting losses with revenues expected to reach $201.4 billion. That is an improvement compared with the June forecast, largely unchanged from 2021, and more than double the $100.8 billion earned in 2019. In 2023, airlines are expected to post a small net profit of $4.7 billion—a 0.6% net profit margin. It is the first profit since 2019 when industry net profits were $26.4 billion (3.1% net profit margin). In 2022, airline net losses are expected to be $6.9 billion (an improvement on the $9.7 billion loss for 2022 in IATA’s June outlook). This is significantly better than losses of $42.0 billion and $137.7 billion that were realized in 2021 and 2020 respectively. “Resilience has been the hallmark for airlines in the COVID-19 crisis. As we look to 2023, the financial recovery will take shape with a first industry profit since 2019. That is a great achievement considering the scale of the financial and economic damage caused by government imposed pandemic restrictions. But a $4.7 billion profit on industry revenues of $779 billion also illustrates that there is much more ground to cover to put the global industry on a solid financial footing. Many airlines are sufficiently profitable to attract the capital needed to drive the industry forward as it decarbonizes. But many others are struggling for a variety of reasons. These include onerous regulation, high costs, inconsistent government policies, inefficient infrastructure and a …