Category Archives: Aviation

The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a major blow to the aviation industry, severely impacting passenger volumes, as well as revenues. Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB/ BLR Airport), which managed a record 32.3 million passengers in FY2019-20, witnessed an unprecedented 66% decline in traffic during FY2020-21. During this period, BLR Airport welcomed only 10.91 million passengers since domestic air travel resumed in India on May 25, 2020, following a two-month suspension. 10.45 million passengers flew domestic routes, recording a 63% drop, as compared to 27 million in FY2019-20. International routes witnessed 4 million passengers in 2019-20 – the passenger footfall, however, declined substantially to 0.46m in FY2020-21, a decline of 90%. This is mainly attributed to the continued suspension of international flights and COVID-19 restrictions across the globe. After showing signs of recovery during the middle of the fiscal year, the traffic dropped significantly due to the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in India, beginning February 2021.

Air cargo firm SpiceXpress and e-commerce logistics platform Delhivery have come together to build drone delivery capability in the country. SpiceXpress, which is the cargo division of airline firm Spicejet, is one of the key consortiums shortlisted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to conduct trials on Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drones in India, the statement said. “We are very excited about this project as it promises to be a game-changer in times to come. The MoU is a win-win for both companies leveraging their strengths to deliver great synergies”, said Sanjiv Gupta, CEO, SpiceXpress The collaboration is an extension of our long-standing relationship with Spicejet. We look forward to leveraging our capabilities to revolutionize the logistics ecosystem” added Ajith Pai, COO, Delhivery. Logistics firm Delhivery will provide the necessary on-ground support to ensure speedy and reliable first-mile and last-mile logistics, according to the statement.

Austrian Airlines has announced that it is ending its preighter operation after 15 months. The Lufthansa Group-owned airline’s long-haul passenger aircraft have regularly operated as freighter-only aircraft between Asia and Europe since March last year. Two B777s (OE-LPA and OE-LPC) even had their seats removed to boost cargo capacity and acted as the “backbone” of the operation. OE-LPA will be the last of the two aircraft to have its seats replaced and from July the aircraft will resume passenger flights to North America, among other destinations. “On 159 flights, we transported 4,500 tons of relief supplies to Europe in the fight against the pandemic,” the carrier said. “The cargo included 200m protective masks, 30m test kits and more than 15m medical gloves. We flew the goods to Austria, but also to Germany and Italy.”

Freight forwarder Crane Worldwide Logistics will in July launch charter flights between China and the US to combat ongoing issues in ocean shipping and tight capacity in air cargo. The service will launch on July 2 using B747-400 freighter capacity between Shanghai and Rickenbacker International Airport, leaving on Fridays and arriving on Saturdays. Crane’s chief sales officer Tim Zubradt explained that it had selected Rickenbacker due to the close proximity to the company’s Columbus warehouse and a one-day truck drive to major cities such as Chicago, New York and Washington. He also pointed out that there was congestion at many major US hubs, with Rickenbacker serving as an alternative US hub for incoming cargo. The service is launched as the ocean shipping industry continues to struggle with delays and reliability issues.

Qatar Airways Cargo announces the approval of Envirotainer’s latest innovation – The Releye® RLP container. With the newest addition to its range of temperature-controlled containers, the airline now offers 16 temperature-controlled container leasing options for life science and health care products to maintain a secure and seamless cool chain. It has been already offering customers Envirotainer’s RAP and RKN active pharma containers since 2014. Guillaume Halleux, Chief Officer Cargo at Qatar Airways said, “We are committed to provide our customers the best solutions. A seamless cool chain is paramount to maintain the efficacy of pharmaceuticals and we are pleased to offer our customers a technologically advanced container – Releye® RLP with live monitoring and intelligent cargo protection to transport their critical life science and health care shipments at the required temperature across our global network. Such an innovation is the need of the hour, especially in these uncertain times of the pandemic.”

Cathay Pacific Cargo has added to its extensive cool-chain options for customers by being the first Asian air-cargo carrier to offer the Envirotainer Releye® RLP for carriage on its aircraft fleet. The Envirotainer Releye® RLP is available across four ports in South Asia, including Mumbai, Hyderabad, Dhaka and Colombo. The Envirotainer Releye® RLP is an LD11-sized unit with a unique air flow technology for maximum temperature stability, and has been designed to meet shippers’ requests for greater load flexibility. The RLP-size container fits three Euro pallets (or two-US pallets) and fills a strategic gap between the larger RAP and smaller RKN-size containers to enable mixing and matching of pallet sizes based on shipment volume. The unit uses rechargeable batteries to power its electric heating and compressor cooling system, which can be controlled from an external panel. A single battery charge will power the system for more than 170 hours. The Releye® RLP also offers fully integrated live monitoring.

DHL Global Forwarding maintained its position as the leading airfreight forwarder last year despite volumes dropping, while Kuehne+Nagel (K+N) looks set to nab the top spot in the coming years and DSV Panalpina continues its rapid rise up. The latest annual market figures from consultant Armstrong & Associates highlight the level of volatility registered in the air cargo market last year, with dramatic variances in performance. The overall decline in volumes for the top 25 players reflects the Covid-19 outbreak that saw much of the world’s airlines ground their fleets as passenger travel ground to a halt and lockdowns constrained consumer spending. For market leader DHL Global Forwarding, like many of its peers, 2020 was a tough year in terms of air volumes as a result of the pandemic, although it was a different story for revenues and profits. The Bonn-headquartered company saw its airfreight volumes decline by 12.1% year on year to 1.7m tonnes.

Air Cargo Club of Bombay (ACCB) successfully organised the Covid-19 vaccination drive for the Cargo Fraternity on June 19th. The vaccination drive was held at Bal Mukund Hall, Andheri, Mumbai. The response to the vaccination drive was overwhelming, as the fraternity people along with their family members actively participated. Total number of person vaccinated were around 765. The ACCB authority thanked the entire team of Surana hospitals, v-care and ACCB committee members and the entire cargo industry for their active participation.

India had been adversely hit by the second wave of the covid pandemic and there has been severe shortage of equipment, beds, healthcare workers, vaccines, oxygen and drugs. Air Logistics Group has contributed to international efforts towards Covid relief by donating medical grade 5 litre Oxygen concentrators to help the Covid patients in India. These concentrators were imported by Air Logistics Group (India) from the UK through its East Midlands office during the height of the second wave in New Delhi to support the needy during these crisis. This is not the first time Air Logistics Group (India) has donated medical equipment. Last year prior to the pandemic they also donated Dialysis machines to serve society . “Every drop – small or big counts in such crucial times when people are struggling for survival”, remarked Vikramjit Singh Ahluwalia, MD in India, following the donation.

CargoAir has commenced operations with its first B737-800SF freighter, which was recently converted by Aeronautical Engineers, Inc (AEI). The aircraft, which is registered in Bulgaria, will support a large European integrator on an upgraded existing route out of Cologne, Germany. With the new addition, CargoAir has also introduced a new aircraft livery. The converted B737-800SF offers a main deck payload of up to 52,700lbs (23,904kg) and incorporates 11 full height 88in x 125in container positions, plus an additional position for an AEP/AEH. The conversion also includes an 86in x 137in main cargo door. The design allows for containers to be loaded into the aircraft 16.5in aft of the forward door jamb, ensuring ground operators have sufficient manoeuvring room and minimise potential for door and aircraft strikes. It also includes a flexible Ancra cargo loading system, five supernumerary seats, a galley and full lavatory.