Category Archives: Aviation

The Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) is gearing up to be transformed into a major cargo destination in South India with the construction of its dedicated international cargo terminal nearing completion, said reports. The terminal will be inaugurated in September, and it will augment the airport’s international cargo handling capacity by minimum 100 tonnes, said reports. Currently the airport handles 150 tonnes of cargo of international sector, the new terminal is expected to expand the capacity to 250 tonnes. The terminal will have modern facilities and technologies in terms of packaging, warehousing, cargo handling and storage.

Skyways Group is now the first Indian forwarder to be one of the ‘Global Partners’ of Saudia Cargo, Skyways Group announced in an official Linkedin post. “Our longstanding relationship with Saudia Cargo goes back three decades. Over these years, this leading business partner has been one of our strongest associates and played a pivotal role in our success story. I would like to extend my gratitude to the entire team of Saudia Cargo and their GSA in India ECS Group for their support over years to us and the trust they have shown in brand Skyways. We look forward to accomplishing great milestones together,” the post added. Commenting on the development, Yashpal Sharma MD, Skyways Group said, “Skyways Group is delighted to sign their 1st Global partnership agreement with an airline – Saudia Cargo. Ever since we were formed in 1983, we have been focusing on our carrier relationships. We have built great partnerships over the last 3 decades with few major international airlines. Our partnerships have helped us to be a market leader in India and also expand our footprint in 42 cities in 6 countries. We moved over 60,000 tons with our airline partners around the world in the year gone by. Skyways Group has a longstanding and fabulous business relationship with Saudia Cargo. We have been working closely for the last 3 decades in the Indian airfreight market. With this agreement Skyways will get a preferred pricing and capacity access across the globe on Saudia network. This will enable us to offer more comprehensive solutions to our customers ranging from any city-pair across the globe. We do look to further add value to Saudia by being their …

Celebi Airport Services India Pvt. Ltd. has been appointed by Saudi Airlines as its Ground Handling Agent at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Hyderabad. The flight was welcomed by Çelebi team in presence of the carrier’s station management. “Thank you Saudi Airlines for trusting Çelebi and expanding our business partnership to this new station. We look forward to a successful collaboration,” said Celebi’s official Linkedin Post. Celebi India also recently bagged ground-handling contract at The Chennai International Airport and has started fulfilling the requirements to start the services. Celebi will provide complete ground handling support to scheduled and non-scheduled airlines at domestic and international terminals.

Global air cargo demand has surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time in eight months, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). IATA released data for February 2023, which showed that air cargo demand rose above pre-pandemic levels by 2.9 per cent. Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs), fell 7.5 per cent compared to February 2022, which was half the rate of decline seen in the previous two months. However, international operations saw an 8.3 per cent decline in demand. Available cargo tonne-kilometres (ACTK) in February 2023 increased by 8.6 per cent compared to February 2022, reflecting the addition of belly capacity. International belly-capacity grew by 57 per cent in February year-over-year (YoY), reaching 75.1 per cent of the 2019 (pre-pandemic) capacity, as per the data by IATA. The operating environment had several factors to note, including the global new export orders component of the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI), which continued to increase in February, indicating that demand for manufactured goods is growing. Although global goods trade decreased by 1.5 per cent in January, it was a slower rate of decline than the previous month of -3.3 per cent. Additionally, the Consumer Price Index for G7 countries decreased from 6.7 per cent in January to 6.4 per cent in February, while inflation in producer (input) prices reduced by 2.2 percentage points to 9.6 per cent in December. In terms of regional performance, Asia-Pacific airlines saw their air cargo volumes decrease by 6.0 per cent in February 2023 compared to the same month in 2022. However, this was a significant improvement compared to January (-19.0 per cent). North American carriers posted a 3.2 per cent decrease in cargo …

The rise in demand for cargo movement across the country mainly fuelled by the growth of e-commerce and expansion of electronics manufacturing, has led to Boeing taking the decision to increase the fleet size of cargo aircraft in the country from the current 15 to 80 by 2041, said reports. “India experienced a surge in cargo demand during the pandemic, and we expect this to continue. Firstly, the growth in e-commerce is fuelling demand for narrow body conversions. Additionally, the expansion of Indian electronics manufacturing, particularly in higher-value manufacturing, is a significant driver of cargo demand,” said reports online. According to Airports Authority of India data, operational airports handled 3.14 million tonne of freight in 2021-22, which is 94% of freight handled in 2017-18. Carriers like IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Air India Express are looking at increasing their freighter fleet size. SpiceJet, in fact has hived off its cargo and logistics business SpiceXpress into a separate entity — SpiceXpress and Logistics — beginning this month. Boeing’s World Air Cargo Forecast 2022 has forecast doubling of cargo traffic and a 60% increase in the world’s freighter fleet by 2041.

Boeing has reportedly resumed with the delivery of B767 Freighters, after a pause due to quality issues affecting commercial and military versions of the wide-body jets. The US manufacturer on April 5 confirmed its deliveries of the type have resumed. Cirium fleets data, however, shows that Boeing delivered a 767-300ER freighter to US package-delivery giant FedEx on March 24. Boeing’s 767 delivery pause became evident early last month after the company said it was working to address what it called a “quality issue” affecting its two remaining in-production 767 variants. Those include cargo-configured 767-300ER freighters and 767-based KC-46 military re-fuelling tankers. “Through Boeing’s standard process, a quality issue was identified on some 767/KC-46 Tanker components,” Boeing said in a statement recently. “We are continuing to work through our process with our supplier, regulator and customers to resolve the issue,” the statement added. Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief executive Stan Deal said last week that the problem involved a “paint adhesion issue”, according to a Reuters report.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for February 2023 global air cargo markets showing that air cargo demand rose above pre-pandemic levels. Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs*), fell 7.5% compared to February 2022 (-8.3% for international operations). This was half the rate of annual decline seen in the previous two months (-14.9% and -15.3% respectively). February demand for air cargo was 2.9% higher than pre-pandemic levels (February 2019)—the first time it has surpassed pre-pandemic levels in eight months. Capacity (measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers, ACTK) was up 8.6% compared to February 2022. The strong uptick in ACTKs reflects the addition of belly capacity as the passenger side of the business continues to recover. International belly-capacity grew by 57.0% in February year-over-year, reaching 75.1% of the 2019 (pre-pandemic) capacity. Several factors in the operating environment should be noted: The global new export orders component of the manufacturing PMI, a leading indicator of cargo demand, continued to increase in February. China’s PMI level surpassed the critical 50-mark indicating that demand for manufactured goods from the world’s largest export economy is growing. Global goods trade decreased by 1.5% in January; this was a slower rate of decline than the previous month of -3.3%. The Consumer Price Index for G7 countries decreased from 6.7% in January to 6.4% in February. Inflation in producer (input) prices reduced by 2.2 percentage points to 9.6% in December (last available data). ”The story of air cargo in February is one of slowing declines. Year-on-year demand fell by 7.5%. That’s half the rate of decline experienced in January. This shifting of gears was sufficient to boost the overall industry into positive territory (+2.9%) compared to …

Airbus has produced the first parts that will make up what it calls “the world’s most efficient large freighter aircraft” – the Airbus A350F. The parts were made at Airbus Atlantic in Nantes, and will soon be transferred to the manufacturer’s other site at Montoir-de-Bretagne, where they will begin to be pieced together, says reports. Airbus A350F is due to enter service in 2025. The parts that Airbus has produced so far will belong to the aircraft’s center wing box. The fittings that will connect the center wing box to the outer wing boxes have also been made, as have the external foot frames that will link the center wing box to the lateral fuselage shells. When complete, the center wing box will measure 6.5 m long x 5.5 m wide x 3.9 m tall. Airbus is, of course, no stranger to making center wing boxes – the parts are similar to those found on the passenger Airbus A350, but feature reinforced floor beams to support the heaviest pallets and containers. Airbus Atlantic has modified its production line at its Nantes factory to offer simultaneous production of the parts needed for both passenger and freighter models of the Airbus A350.

Celebi Ground Services Chennai Pvt. Ltd signed the Concession Agreement with Airport Authority of India (AAI) for provision of Ground Services at Chennai International Airport. Dr. Sharad Kumar – Airport Director – Chennai Airport and Murali Ramachandran – CEO Celebi India chaired the signing ceremony. Airlines operating to Chennai will now have the option of partnering with a professional and globally recognized Ground Handler which will aid in significantly increasing operational efficiency, providing quality service delivery with a safety-first motto and a strong customer centric approach. We are now gearing up to start services within the next few weeks.

SATS Ltd. (“SATS”) today announced it has completed its acquisition of global air cargo logistics provider Worldwide Flight Services (“WFS”) for €1.3 billion (equivalent to approximately S$1.8 billion) from an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management (“Cerberus”), representing an enterprise value of €2,250 million as previously announced. The acquisition received an overwhelming support of 96.8% approval from SATS’ voting shareholders in January this year and obtained regulatory approvals in all relevant jurisdictions in February. With effect from completion, WFS becomes a fully owned subsidiary of SATS, which is headquartered in Singapore. WFS will continue to be headquartered in Paris and operate as Worldwide Flight Services. Craig Smyth, CEO of WFS, will continue to run the company and report to Kerry Mok, President & Chief Executive Officer of SATS, and an advisory board. Both SATS and WFS have a long history and deep knowledge of the aviation industry. SATS is a leading provider of food solutions and gateway services in Asia, while WFS is a leading air cargo logistics provider globally with ground handling capabilities. As a combined company, SATS and WFS create an Americas-Europe-APAC network with a global footprint of 201 cargo and ground handling stations in 23 countries, covering trade routes responsible for more than 50% of global air cargo volume. The combined group operates in five of the top 10 cargo airports in North America and Europe respectively, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Frankfurt, and Paris, and four of the top 10 cargo airports in Asia, including Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, and Beijing. Mok said, “Recent global events have highlighted the importance of supply chain resiliency and an interconnected global network of cargo handling capabilities that provides speed, traceability, …