Dronamics has partnered with composite manufacturer Cotesa to manufacture long-range cargo drones in Europe. The partnership with Cotesa, a European manufacturer of high-quality composite fibre components for aerospace and automotive companies, supports the demand for Dronamics’ commercial routes to be launched in Europe in 2023. Dronamics recently became the first drone cargo company to obtain a European drone airline license. Its Black Swan drone is the only cargo UAV that can carry 350 kg (770lb) up to 2,500 km (1,550mi) and will be manufactured at Cotesa’s facilities in Germany. “We are delighted to sign an MoU with Cotesa. This agreement is signed to produce the Black Swan in their German facility supports our promise to enable same day delivery for everyone, everywhere, and the start of DRONAMICS’ commercial operations as the first drone cargo airline on the continent next year,” said Svilen Rangelov, Co-Founder and Chief Executive, Dronamics.

UPS is delivering for Boeing, boosting Boeing’s August sales with an order for eight freighters. The aircraft maker said UPS’s order for eight cargo planes was the biggest order out of a total order of 26 cargo planes. It may be noted Boeing also took orders for 13 more orders from 737 Max planes, including two from American Airlines. A Boeing official said, two 787s released to American Airlines were not included in the sales bucket as the planes were undergoing some repairs.

DHL Supply Chain (DHL) announced a EUR 500 million investment in India over the next five years. DHL will own and operate wholly owned large multi-client sites in India because of this transaction, adding twelve million square feet of warehouse space to the Group’s existing portfolio, says official press release. The expanded warehouse capacity is intended to better serve rising industries such as e-commerce, retail, consumer, life sciences, technology, engineering, and manufacturing, and automotive. “Majority of investment will go towards construction of large warehouses and logistics centers. In India, we will have a multiple customers facility, which means we can deploy people across multiple customers or bring in economies of scale,” said Vikas Anand, MD, DHL Supply Chain India.

Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport has received new air freight processing and distributing terminal to handle cargo such as cars, car parts, medical supplies and equipment, manufacturing machinery and more. The 50,000-foot expansion represents an estimated $5 million investment. The goal is to accommodate ongoing rapid growth in the airport’s freight operations, said the reports. According to the airport, the volume of air freight handled in 2021 increased 48 per cent over the year prior. Airport leaders say GSP is one of the fastest-growing airports in the country for freight. They want to compete with Atlanta and Charlotte for shipping in the future. Currently, the cargo flowing through GSP fuels upstate industry.

Teleport has announced plans to expand its fleet with the addition of three Airbus A321 Freighters (A321F). The latest development has increased Teleport’s cargo-only fleet to four freighters in total, in addition to 200 exclusive AirAsia passenger aircraft belly. The three A321Fs will be operated by AirAsia and will be delivered in stages starting in Q1 of 2023, said an official release. “The addition of the A321Fs into Teleport’s fleet provides the unique load ability and body composition where it allows for containerised loading in both the main deck and lower deck,” stated the release. These narrowbody freighters are believed to strengthen Teleport’s cargo network and address the diversifying market demand within Southeast Asia and the overall Asia-Pacific region. According to the release, each A321F, leased from BBAM Limited Partnership (BBAM), can carry up to 27 tonnes of cargo per flight which is ideal considering the surge in market demand for air cargo to fulfil both small-scale items of e-commerce and bigger scale of volumetric cargo.

Çelebi Cargo GmbH has selected Check-it, one of Nallian’s software applications, to improve the digitalisation path in his subsidiary in Frankfurt. The cargo handler is using Check-it as a digital and smart ULD airworthy check for final fit-to-fly checks but also for the acceptance of BUPs to further increase our all-number-one priority: flight safety. After the successful trial at the beginning of the year, Çelebi Cargo GmbH is scanning and checking already 100 per cent of the ULDs from a major airline customer using the application. Either at the acceptance stage (BUP) or own build ULDs before they get handed over for ramp transport. The solution will be used in the Frankfurt station first. Christopher Licht, CEO Çelebi Frankfurt, comments, “Safety is and will be always the highest priority for Çelebi. Therefore, we started this initiative to create a cent per cent safe, transparent, and digital solution, which is communicating in real time, internally and externally. Combining the operational know-how from our staff with the technical know-how from Nallian was the right decision to enable this game-changing digital airworthy check.”

According to latest data released by Airports Authority of India (AAI), Indian airports handled 275,030 tonnes of cargo in July, an increase of 6 per cent compared to July 2021. International cargo movement was down marginally at 159,520 tonnes, and domestic cargo increased nearly 19 per cent to 115,510 tonnes, stated AAI. For the first four months of the current financial year, total cargo movement was up nearly 9 per cent at 1.1 million tonnes. Domestic cargo movement increased over 28 per cent to 446,730 tonnes compared to 348,090 tonnes during April-July 2021. According to AAI, the 70 domestic airports logged the maximum gains in the April-July period (62 per cent) at 11,663 tonnes. Airports reported mixed volumes in July as well as April-July period. For example, Delhi handled 46,013 tonnes in July, down 6 per cent y-o-y and 187,541 tonnes during April-July, down nearly 8 per cent. Mumbai also reported lower volumes, but Kochi reported a 20 per cent increase during April-July at 16,111 tonnes. Nagpur saw 86 per cent increase at 104 tonnes.

BBN Cargo Airlines has plans to add a new airline based in Indonesia as it looks to capitalise on growth in the region. BBN Cargo Airlines, which operates Iceland-based cargo airline Bluebird Nordic, said BBN Airlines Indonesia would be based out of Jakarta. BBN Airlines Indonesia is in the process of getting the airline business license, which the company stated should be ready this year, and it hopes to gain an Aircraft Operator Certificate (AOC) in the second quarter of 2023. The airline will manage its cargo operations from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, which one of the busiest airports in the Southern Hemisphere. “The demand for air cargo transportation services in the past decade is one of the main reasons for this business expansion,” the company stated.

To improve air transport logistics and diversify air cargo products in the region, Vietnam’s Vietravel Airlines shares plans to launch a new cargo airline in cooperation with logistics service Asean Cargo Gateway (ACG). With stakes of 51 per cent and 49 per cent, respectively in VUAir Cargo, Vietravel Airlines and ACG anticipate the first year of operations will see the airline focus on transporting goods between Vietnam and large factories in Asian countries, including China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, stated a company statement. VUAir Cargo will use a fleet of up to four Boeing B737-800F freighters in the first year, stated Vietravel Airlines. The fleet is expected to double next year.

As part of the trial runs for transhipment of cargo to the North-eastern states using Chattogram and Mongla ports to boost connectivity between the two sides, CJ Darcl Logistics Ltd., flagged off cargo ships to the region. Cargo ships are scheduled to follow Kolkata-Chattogram-Sheola and Tamabil-Chattogram-Kolkata routes as part of the trial run. This is part of a bilateral agreement signed in October 2018 for the transit of goods from India via Chattogram and Mongla ports in Bangladesh (ACMP). The cargo, Steel TMT bars, for the container ships are for Tata Steel Ltd. The trial run may lead the way for regular movement of cargo via Bangladesh ports to Indian North-east region, which will help to lower transportation costs and develop infrastructure in the port region, including creation of direct and indirect employment. The vessel may return to Chattogram Port within three days of its departure. Post unloading, the goods will be sent to Assam by road through the Sheola Land Port in Sylhet.