Category Archives: Aviation

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport in Ahmedabad is all set to get a new ‘semi-automated’ cargo terminal in 2023. According to the reports, the construction work on the upcoming terminal has begun and according to the airport operator, the first phase of work is expected to be completed by June 2023. The new terminal will come up right opposite the India Meteorological Department (IMD)’s office on the airport campus. According to data available, 1.15 lakh tonnes of cargo were processed at SVPI airport in 2019. The new facility, with a total built-up area of 33,000 sq m, will be capable of accommodating future cargo volume growth. Of this, the first phase will cover a built-up area of 21,000 sq m. “The upcoming one is a greenfield project. The terminal will be capable of handling domestic cargo, international cargo, express courier, cold-chain pharma, and other perishable cargo,” said reports.

According to Mobility Foresights, the global air freight market size is $197 Billion in 2022 growing at a CAGR of 1.3% over the forecast period 2022 to 2027. In 2021, available cargo tons – kilometers (ACTKs) fell by ~11% compared to 2019. Capacity did not come back slowly during the year due to improvements in international passenger traffic.The tight air cargo market in 2021 has been affected by high air cargo rates. Despite starting the year at elevated levels, the cargo rate moved upwards in H2- 2021, reaching new records in December, at almost 150% above December 2019 levels, contributing to the significant increase in air cargo revenues for airlines active in the sector. According to the reports, in 2021, rates were compounded by supply chain issues, which made air cargo relatively attractive compared to maritime shipping. There was a marked reduction in container shipping schedule reliability in 2021, and the relative cost of container shipping rose, though air remains overall more expensive for businesses. Supply chain issue in container shipping is expected to stabilize by 2022-23, which will soften the air freight demand and rates.Global air freight market is dominated by large scale operators like – DHL, FedEx, UPS, DB Schenker, Kuehne + Nagel and DSV Panalpina occupied 71% of the market in 2021.

The defence ministry has given over 1.76 acres to the Pune airport authority on which the current cargo facility is expected to shift in the next four months.  The land on BSO yard (barrack store office) is adjacent to the  apron area in front of multi-level car parking (MLCP) facility. “The decided land was handed over to the Pune airport three days ago. The cargo area will be shifted from airport premises as it is coming between the old terminal and a new terminal and affecting the work of new terminal building,” said Santosh Dhoke, director, Pune international airport in a statement. “We have started shifting cargo facilities to the new loaction. In the next four months, civil electrical-related work will be completed. We are expecting  to start operation from the new location in December,”he added. The airport authority will be getting 13 acres from the defence ministry. “The airport authority already had 0.74-acre land and now are given 1.76 acres more. Hence, the total land parcel is 2.5 acres,” said sources.

DRONAMICS has announced its very first strategic manufacturing partnership with Quickstep Holdings Limited, a tier one manufacturer and the largest independent aerospace composites business in Australia. This turnkey solution partnership will help DRONAMICS accelerate the production of the Black Swan cargo drones. With the first units landing in 2023, long-term plans target the ramp-up of production of hundreds of Black Swan cargo drones annually in the next four years. The agreement comes at a key time as it recently became the first cargo drone company to obtain a European drone airline license. The manufacturing will take place in Quickstep’s Australian facilities, globally recognised for their innovative engineering and premium manufacturing capabilities and trusted by the world’s most advanced aerospace players. Konstantin Rangelov, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of DRONAMICS said: “The first strategic manufacturing partnership is a key milestone in our mission to enable same day delivery for everyone, everywhere. As an innovator who is challenging the status quo in cargo mobility, we are thrilled to have the support of an experienced partner like Quickstep to help us realize the full potential of our solution.”

Emirates SkyCargo took delivery of its latest Boeing 777-F to boost its fleet capacity and cater to the growth in the industry. The carrier has seen significant increase in cargo loads across its products, including pharma and fresh produce. In 2021-22, annual tonnage carried crossed 2.1 million, an increase of 15%, with transport of perishables crossing 260,000 tonnes, and both pharma and valuable goods each growing by 17%. Nabil Sultan, Divisional Senior Vice President Emirates SkyCargo said, “The new freighter will help increase our capacity and boost our ability to deliver vital goods and facilitate trade globally. Despite the challenging headwinds this year, the air cargo industry is booming, and we’ve been flat out since the pandemic began. Emirates SkyCargo will continue its journey as one of the world’s largest and best air cargo airlines by investing in our fleet, our global network, technology, and world-class logistics infrastructure at our Dubai hub and beyond.”

To outsource ULD management and customize logistics solutions, Western Global Airlines has confirmed a five-year ULD (Unit Load Device) agreement with ACL Airshop, a leading international service partner. Western Global Airlines and ACL Airshop are working together to measurably enhance the logistics efficiencies of Western Global’s ULD fleet, including the introduction of ULD Control™ for real-time tracking of ULDs. That, combined with ACL’s global Operations Center and the innovative “FindMyULD” mobile App all operate together for better utilization rates and cost efficiencies for client airlines that use ACL’s technology suite. Wes Tucker, COO-Western Hemisphere for ACL Airshop said, “We feel privileged to serve Western Global Airlines with our complete suite of equipment, technology, and logistics services. Our objective is to cost-effectively help Western Global keep growing as a market leader in air cargo.”

Skye Air Mobility has collaborated with Curefoods, a cloud kitchen startup founded by Cult.fit co-founder and former Flipkart executive Ankit Nagori in 2020, to deliver frozen food in specially built temperature-controlled packaging via drones. From July 25 to July 31, a series of beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) trials will be conducted, carrying about 5 kilos of frozen food per flight, covering a road distance of about 30 km from Curefoods’ warehouse in Jhund Sarai to the Curefoods kitchen outlet on Golf Course Road in Gurgaon, near Delhi. During the trials, the drone will complete an aerial distance of 20 km in less than 30 minutes. Once the drone is deployed for commercial use, Skye Air plans to carry about 50 kilos of frozen food in a single flight. “During the pilot, we are deploying drones that will complete around 8 trips daily and carry close to 40 kilos on average. In the future, when we consider how we might scale this, we will send out a drone to carry the payload of 50 kilos. Because this food is frozen, we are keeping the temperature at minus 20 degrees during the flight, and making sure that the food’s quality does not degrade during the journey. Another essential component of this project is giving the client feedback in real-time,” said Ankit Kumar, CEO, Skye Air Mobility in a statement.

Saudi Arabia is seeking companies such as Amazon.com, Alibaba Group, and DHL Express to boost its air cargo and distribution operations, said Mohammed Fahad Alkhuraisi, vice president for strategy at the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation in an event. The country plans to stage a number of roadshows by the end of 2023 as it seeks to persuade the e-commerce and air freight giants to help ramp up its own operations and infrastructure. It will invite private companies from abroad to create local partnerships and set up freight-forwarding and warehousing activities, Alkhuraisi added. In line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 framework to reduce its dependence on oil and diversify its economy, the advance into air cargo and logistics aims to accelerate the capacity of the kingdom’s air cargo sector to more than 4.5 million tonnes per year by the end of the decade as part of a USD100 billion plan to enlarge the aviation sector.

American Airlines has finalised an agreement with biofuel company Gevo, Inc. to purchase 500 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) over five years, the most significant SAF offtake commitment to date for the carrier. “The announcement is a historic step forward for American and our industry as we work to reduce our carbon footprint,” said Jill Blickstein, Vice President, Sustainability, American Airlines. “The use of SAF is a cornerstone of our strategy to decarbonise air travel. While this landmark investment represents meaningful action by American Airlines, driving progress at the scale and pace we need requires critical policy action in Washington and at the state level. Alongside our oneworld partners, we’re proud to lead the way in the shift to SAF and make progress toward our shared climate goals.” American’s Gevo agreement was developed alongside others in the oneworld alliance, said a statement from the airline. “In September 2020, oneworld became the first global airline alliance to announce a target of carbon neutrality by 2050, establishing its commitment to long-term sustainability for the industry. The alliance followed up the commitment with an intermediate goal to achieve 10 percent SAF use across member airlines by 2030.”

Maersk has ordered three new 767-300 freighters from Boeing and arranged with Miami-based cargo airline Amerijet to fly them on trans-Pacific routes as the company’s air cargo division moves to gain a strategic foothold in the U.S. market. During the past eight months, Maersk has poured resources from its hyper-profitable container line business into transforming the in-house airline into a full-service air logistics provider and expanding globally beyond its traditional sphere in Europe. Maersk will receive three 767 all-cargo jets from Boeing’s Everett, Washington, factory in 2022, and outsource their operation to Amerijet, said Maersk spokesman Povl Rasmussen. The freighters are expected to enter service this year between Asia and North America. “As previously announced, A.P. Moller – Maersk is both strengthening and expanding its air freight offering,” the company said in a statement. “Air freight is a crucial enabler of flexibility and agility in global supply chains as it allows our customers to tackle time-critical supply chain challenges and provides transport mode options for high value cargo. Maersk’s owned controlled capacity is designed to make supply chain journeys more resilient and intuitive.  When deployed later this year, the three new 767 aircraft will be based in the U.S. and operated by Amerijet exclusively for Maersk,” the statement added.