Category Archives: Aviation

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) announced that it has signed an agreement with Atlas Air for four new 777-200 freighters on a lease for a long-term deal. The first freighter is likely to be delivered in 2023. MSC Air Cargo has been under development for several months, said the shipping line, and will begin operations in early 2023. A company statement said, MSC’s entry into airfreight was in response to customer demand and as a complementary service to its container shipping solutions. Soren Toft, MSC chief executive officer said, “We are delighted to announce the development of MSC Air Cargo and to welcome Jannie Davel to spearhead this exciting new offering for MSC clients. This is our first step into this market and we plan to continue exploring various avenues to develop air cargo in a way that complements our core business of container shipping.”

DHL Global Forwarding has inaugurated a new sustainable, solar-powered transhipment hub and head office in Johannesburg, South Africa. Located in the Sky Park Industrial Estate it provides easy access to OR Tambo International Airport. The facility’s temperature-controlled chambers and Good Distribution Practices (GDP)-trained personnel enable the new hub to cater to the unique needs of Africa’s rapidly advancing life sciences and healthcare (LSH) sector, said official release. The new EUR 7-million facility (R127 million) includes offices and a 10,000 m2 warehouse. It will serve as a hub for transport, logistics, and warehouse solutions, as well as international freight expertise for different industries.

To facilitate the growth of the airline’s cargo business, Akasa Air has signed an agreement with SmartKargo to implement its digital air cargo management solution (ACMS). Akasa will deploy the SmartKargo solution across all functional areas of its cargo business serving all its destinations pan India, said release. According to the statement, the solution will interface seamlessly with the airline’s other systems and third-party providers via APIs — for fast integration and deployment, the release added. SmartKargo’s superior capabilities include 100 percent paperless e-AWBs, ease of booking, modern and flexible technology, single screen data entries, user-configurable Business Intelligence (BI) and reporting, powerful pricing and rate making, and real-time capacity management. Praveen Iyer, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Akasa Air also said, “SmartKargo’s platform will empower us to build and develop an innovative, dependable, and flexible air cargo business. The cutting-edge cloud platform is the best technology available and will boost Akasa Air forward by providing a full solution that includes great technology and deep expertise, so we can grow our cargo business to its full potential.”

Continental Carriers Pvt Ltd (CCPL) successfully planned and executed the movement of 38 tons odd sized machinery from Germany to Chennai. The shipment was picked up from two separate factories in Germany and transported by road to Belgrade Airport for uplifting on a specially chartered IL-76 aircraft (BEG/MAA). Continental Carriers organized special equipment to load and offload the shipment on the charter, adding another feather in CCPL’s cap.

IAG Cargo has become the latest airline to approve the use of Envirotainer’s Releye RLP and RAP ULDs to transport pharma products on flights. The cargo division said that the recently launched containers would be utilised on its Constant Climate cold chain service. John Cheetham, chief commercial officer, IAG Cargo said: “Temperature-controlled air cargo is crucial for getting life-saving medicines from one corner of the world to another. IAG Cargo’s dedicated teams are always looking at ways to enhance our Constant Climate service and so we are delighted to be able to offer our customers Envirotainer’s Releye containers. “Envirotainer, is one of our long-term partners whose solution offers our customers a more effective mechanism to transport pharmaceuticals as well as complete visibility from start to finish.” The containers are monitored through a control tower service as standard. The units use rechargeable batteries, with a single battery charge able to power the system for over 170 hours. They also offer live monitoring for product condition, location, temperature, humidity, battery levels, door openings, if cargo is loaded or not, and the progress of shipments.

Airbus is expanding its outsized air cargo capabilities with a new loading system for the Beluga A300-600ST aircraft for military cargo. The total lifting capacity of the Airbus Defence and Space-developed loading system to move outsized military cargo into the A300-600ST reaches 35 tonnes. Airbus tested the capability of the loading system, which requires no crane for its use and can be relocated to the aircraft’s destination, during a verification exercise with the German armed forces, the system’s first customer. The exercise involved loading a CH53 military medium-lift helicopter into the Beluga. “The demand for outsized air cargo capability is on the rise. Capacity is scarce and, current geopolitical developments, many customers are looking for new, fast, and efficient solutions. This is what we offer with our BelugaST fleet,” said Michael Schoellhorn, chief executive, Airbus Defence and Space. “Our teams have been working on a remarkable solution to facilitate efficient, and autonomous handling to load heavy military cargo onto the aircraft. “Speed, agility and autonomy are crucial elements for our customers when it comes to such operations.”

Cathay Pacific has signed an agreement with Aemetis for the supply of 38 million US gallons of blended Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to be delivered over seven years beginning in 2025 from San Francisco International Airport. “The SAF purchased can reduce more than 80,000 tonnes of lifecycle carbon emissions, equivalent to the amount of carbon sequestered by more than 1.3 million tree seedlings grown for 10 years. The agreement is also part of the joint procurement initiative for SAF by the oneworld alliance, of which Cathay Pacific is a founding member,” said an official release. Augustus Tang, Chief Executive Officer said, “Cathay Pacific continues to reaffirm its commitment to addressing climate change despite these challenging times. In the past few years, we have announced our carbon net-zero by 2050 target and our goal of achieving 10 percent use of SAF by 2030. In doing this, we have built a robust SAF procurement strategy to help meet our goals. We are pleased that this agreement with Aemetis will contribute to that effort, and we hope it will also send the right signal to the SAF industry to encourage the much-needed investment and scaling up of its supply chain.”

US based National Airlines announced the arrival of a fuel-efficient freighter to its fleet. Boeing 747-400 ERF is an extended range freighter. With registration N663CA (MSN 35237), it features a nose door and a large side door, the aircraft is a logical choice globally for sophisticated cargo movements across long distances, said release. “The induction is part of National Airlines’ current global fleet and network expansion approach to meet the massive demand to move huge shipments worldwide.” The release added, “The aircraft has a maximum gross payload of an incredible 128 metric tons (about 282,000 pounds). The nose door loading capability, a unique feature of this type of aircraft, gives National the capability to move customers’ shipments of any length, which is not possible with the B777 freighter. This aircraft is also particularly suitable for pharmaceuticals, seafood, perishables, and other cold chain shipments.” https://www.stattimes.com/aviation/b747-400erf-joins-national-airlines-fleet-1346507

M Afzal Malbarwala, President, Air Cargo Agents Association of India shared his views on the recently launched National Logistics Policy and said it is a great gift to the logistics industry. “PM’s vision and his thoughts are very inspirational. He has given us the policy and now as a sector, we have to perform and show the progress and results. PM also praised the work done by the logistics industry during the pandemic which is a great booster. As mentione by the PM, logistics industry needs to perform at cheetah’s speed ensuring fast deliveries in the coming times and we have government’s support. It was an honour and inspiration to hear from such a great person. Today, with this policy, we are at par with any other country.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the much-awaited National Logistics Policy in the National Capital on Saturday. Commenting on the same, veteran freight forwarder, Cyrus Katgara, Partner, Jeena and Company said, “The National Logistics Policy will accelerate the growth of the sector in the coming years as it aims to promote seamless movements of goods across the country and addresses the infrastructure, procedural gaps in India’s EXIM connectivity by creating efficient, reliable and streamlined cross border trade facilitation. The sectoral plans for cost effective logistics aligned with Gati Shakti initiative is poised to be a game changer and we look forward to its unfolding in the near future.”