Category Archives: Aviation

Bureau of Civil Aviation and Security (BCAS) had initially withdrawn permission for export cargo terminal at Chennai, AI Airport Services Ltd (AIASL) to accept palletized air cargo, due to which over 100 tonnes of export cargo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 …

We definitely need more freighters in India. At present, we have a few such as Pradhan Air Express, Air India Express, and IndiGo Cargo’s dedicated freighter. We need more widebody freighters because there is so much cargo, which is lying in the remote locations that needs to be carried,” shares Tushar Jani, Group Chairman, Cargo Service Center (CSC). “First let us understand we need more global freighters than domestic freighters. I agree it is a costly operation. Multimodal transportation is going to be a game changer for Indian logistics. The government is improving inland waterways, coastal shipping, roadways, and rail. There is this new freight corridor, which will link the northeast to Myanmar to Thailand to Cambodia to Vietnam and up to Philippines and down south we are going to be cooperating with Sri Lanka in the times to come so we are on the threshold of a new journey. Now that the government has launched this NLP, then one will see India in a higher orbit and there is nothing to go back to. If you have money put in logistics, it is time to invest in the supply chain. It is a sunrise industry,” he adds.

According to the latest figures from WorldACD Market Data, global air cargo tonnages have dropped strongly, during this holiday season. However, despite the weakening trend in air cargo tonnages, this year’s decline at the beginning of the holiday season is smaller than last year, indicate, WorldACD data. “Figures for week 51 (19 to 25 December) show an overall drop of -11 percent in worldwide flown tonnages compared with the previous week. The decrease in overall chargeable weight is normal for this time of the year as the holiday period begins, with this year’s drop smaller than last year (-14percent) when comparing week 51 to week 50. The average rates declined in week 51 by -2 percent compared to the previous week, which is slightly steeper than during the same period last year and a continuation of the sliding rate levels that we have witnessed since the beginning of the month. Comparing weeks 50 and 51 with the preceding two weeks (2Wo2W), tonnages decreased -7 percent below their combined total in weeks 48 and 49, while average worldwide rates declined -3 percent, combined with a -3 percent decrease in capacity – based on the more than 400,000 weekly transactions covered by WorldACD’s data. In this two-week period, tonnages were down between all regions, except from Middle East & South Asia to Asia Pacific (+5 percent), and intra-Asia Pacific (+3 percent). Most significant decreases were recorded from Asia Pacific to Europe (-18 percent), from North America to Europe (-16 percent) and from Europe to Africa (-16 percent),” the data further indicates.

AerCap Holdings N.V. has recently announced the delivery of the first of its six new Airbus A330-900neo aircraft to German leisure carrier, Condor, said release. The remaining aircraft are scheduled to be delivered in the summer of 2023 through 2024. “We are delighted to announce the delivery of the first of six new Airbus A330-900neo aircraft to Condor, and to see the aircraft painted in their distinctive new striped livery design,” said Peter Anderson, the Chief Commercial Officer of AerCap. “The A330Neo aircraft is the perfect choice for Condor and will enable them to expand their network using the most modern, fuel-efficient technology while supporting their sustainability commitments. We wish the team every success and we look forward to continuing to build our partnership in the years to come,” he adds. “With AerCap as our very experienced and supportive partner, we are looking forward to welcoming the next A330-900neo within the upcoming months,” said Björn Walther, the Chief Financial Officer of Condor. “Thanks to the great cooperation we are able to take an important step towards a successful future.”

Miami International Airport (MIA) is adopting a vertical approach to meeting air cargo capacity demand as it contends with limited space. The airport’s “Vertically Integrated Cargo Community” project envisions a five-storey storage warehouse which is expected to more than double its current cargo capacity. Expected to break ground next year, the estimated five-year project will add approximately 4.5m (US) tons of cargo capacity to the 3m tons of existing capacity, says Jimmy Nares, section chief – marketing at Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD), which operates MIA. Being a 24/7 airport without slot restrictions helps with capacity management, but the project, which has secured planning permission, is crucial to the future growth of the airport. “We’re very close to our cargo capacity right now,” says Nares. “But we should be able to go up to approximately 7.5m tons capacity. We should be in a good position for 10-15 years after that.” The idea for the building, of which two or three floors will be dedicated to cargo, originated from the limited space the airport operates in. “We’re landlocked. We don’t have the luxury of being able to add additional land to build more warehouse space. So we decided to go vertical,” says Nares. Aviation facility development organisation Airis USA LLC is leading the project. The company will be building the structure in phases. The first stage will focus on the first two floors, which will include about 2m sq ft of cargo storage, says Nares.

Sharing his predictions for New Year, Nitish Rai, CEO and Co-Founder, FreightFox says, “2022 has been a year of reckoning for global logistics and supply chains. The year created the sensitivity and need for strong supply chain visibility and resilience across manufacturing logistics. This year has also been instrumental in laying the foundation of rapid digitalisation and data-led transformation to create future-ready logistics. Also, 2022 saw strong tailwinds with organisations globally talking about ESG / Sustainability also as a core theme and taking aggressive objectives towards building net zero value chains. We believe this year was foundational in many ways and learnings post-Covid and carved a well thought future path for transformation and resilience in 2023.”

Martin Drew, Senior Vice President Global Sales & Cargo, Etihad Aviation Group says, “As 2022 comes to a close, we have seen demand for air cargo soften when compared to 2021. While forecasts have been adjusted downwards, the air cargo sector is still projected to grow and outpace pre-pandemic levels in 2023. We will likely see a reduction in capacity constraints, especially out of the Asia Pacific region. We can expect to see some softening of global yield levels with the return of more belly-hold capacity. However, an imbalance between strong demand and available supply in key cargo origin markets along with a relatively high share of freighter capacity will continue to demand higher yields. Some of the challenges we have faced in 2022 will remain in 2023. We will need to closely monitor macroeconomic factors, high fuel prices, supply shortages and ongoing border and travel restrictions. However, even with these challenges, tremendous opportunities are available to carriers who are agile, work collaboratively with stakeholders across the sector, and can adapt to evolving market conditions. We are continuously exploring introducing new territories and countries and focusing on our existing network to provide market-leading services based on customer demand. As we come to the end of 2022 and look ahead to 2023, we will continue to evaluate new markets and opportunities to grow our offering to our customers as part of Etihad Cargo’s wider cargo strategy. Etihad Cargo has identified pharmaceuticals as a high-growth sector and is investing in infrastructure and new product features to enhance our PharmaLife offering. In the coming year and beyond, the pharmaceutical sector will increasingly feature more personalised medication and treatment, including cell and gene therapy. …