Category Archives: Aviation

DHL Express successfully delivered the first batch of 1.5 million Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine doses to Thailand. From door-to-door in just three days, DHL Express flew the vaccines in thermal packaging and subsequently arranged for it to be sent directly to a designated warehouse in Thailand. The arrival of 1.5 million doses, part of the US donation to Southeast Asian countries, aims to help Thailand and the region accelerate their vaccination programs and provide equitable access to immunization as to keep their populations safe, and ensure that their economies can recover quickly. “We are deeply grateful for the trust that our customers have placed in us in handling this precious cargo. It marks another milestone in combating the spread of Covid-19, assisting the country’s recovery and protecting healthcare professionals on the frontline from Covid-19 infection. We are proud to leverage our capabilities and network to transport this life-saving cargo in accordance with the stringent logistics requirements to get through the pandemic,” said Herbert Vongpusanachai, managing director at DHL Express Thailand and Head of Indochina.

Royal Cargo, one of the leading logistics service providers in the Philippines, recently inaugurated its newest facility, the vaccine depot in Parañaque City, Philippines. This new storage serves as a sizeable addition to the country’s fight against COVID-19. The vaccine depot is a $1million investment that aims to provide a pharma-grade storage facility for COVID-19 and other types of available vaccines. Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez and Representative Eric Olivarez graced the inaugural ceremony of the new depot located at the Royal Cargo headquarters in Paranaque City. In his special message, Mayor Olivarez thanked the Royal Cargo management and said, “It is a great help in our country, as we face the pandemic, (the cold storage facility), will store the needed vaccines by every Filipino citizen not only from the City of Paranaque but the whole nation of the Republic of the Philippines.” The vaccine depot is strategically located near the NAIA airport for fast and easy transfer of vaccines to and from the airport.

The demand to transport global vaccination, consumer good are increasing and companies are looking for alternative transport solutions as the sea freight as well as on the Iron Silk Road market are tight. Despite capacity constraints in air freight, cargo-partner offers its customers weekly charter flights from Asia to Europe and has recently extended its successful charter program. In addition, further destinations have been added to the existing network. The resurgence of the global economy is in full swing and industrial production is picking up again. Private consumption in particular, but also the automotive, high-tech and retail sectors are considered drivers of this development. To help customers maintain their supply chains, cargo-partner has been offering regular charter services from Hong Kong to Budapest with two departures per week since spring 2020 (only one departure per week during the summer months). In response to increasing customer demand, the transport and logistics provider has now extended its scheduled charter services between Asia and Europe until the end of the year. To complement this high-demand service, cargo-partner has also introduced weekly charter flights from Frankfurt to Zhengzhou and back, starting in June 2021.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global air cargo markets for June showing a 9.9% improvement on pre-COVID-19 performance (June 2019). This pushed first half-year air cargo growth to 8%, its strongest first half performance since 2017 (when the industry posted 10.2% year-on-year growth). As comparisons between 2021 and 2020 monthly results are distorted by the extraordinary impact of COVID-19, unless otherwise noted, all comparisons to follow are to June 2019 which followed a normal demand pattern. • Global demand for June 2021, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs*), was up 9.9% compared to June 2019. • Regional variations in performance are significant. North American carriers contributed 5.9 percentage points (ppts) to the 9.9% growth rate in June. Middle East carriers contributed 2.1 ppts, European airlines 1.6 ppts, African airlines 0.5 ppts and Asia-Pacific carriers 0.3 ppts. Latin American carriers did not support the growth, shaving 0.5 ppts off the total. “Air cargo is doing brisk business as the global economy continues its recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. With first-half demand 8% above pre-crisis levels, air cargo is a revenue lifeline for many airlines as they struggle with border closures that continue to devastate the international passenger business. Importantly, the strong first-half performance looks set to continue,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

Volga-Dnepr Airlines has played an essential part in the implementation of the large-scale Omani Oil and Gas project with a smooth and seamless delivery of two gigantic oil well rigs to the capital of Oman. The complex delivery for two advanced automated well service rigs, weighing almost 120 tons, was accomplished in partnership with Pentagon Freight Services Canada, who engaged Volga-Dnepr for a timely and efficient logistics solution to meet the end-user’s stringent delivery time whilst overcoming many challenging aspects of loading and required detailed and complex computer modelling to ensure they were safely loaded for transportation. The six-leg flight, lasting five days, was organised from Calgary, Canada to Muscat, Oman aboard one of Volga-Dnepr’s modernised An-124-150 which has an extended payload carrying up to 150 tonnes including loading equipment. Adrian Pruden, vice-president of Pentagon Freight Services Canada praised Volga-Dnepr and their operations and flight crew for the smooth seamless operation. “Pentagon and Highwood Technologies were very pleased and fortunate to work alongside such industry experts to properly plan and execute such a time sensitive project. Another well executed job by Volga-Dnepr and we look forward to the next one!”

Qatar Airways Cargo has extended its cool chain industry partnerships by joining Cool Chain Association (CCA), a non-profit organisation, effective 28 July 2021. Founded in 2003, the association aims to reduce food wastage and improve the quality, efficiency and value of the temperature sensitive supply chain by facilitating and enabling vertical and horizontal collaboration, education and innovation amongst its members and stakeholders. Guillaume Halleux, Chief Officer Cargo at Qatar Airways said, “Through our membership with Cool Chain Association, we look forward to collaborating with its members, and contributing to CCA’s vision of improving quality of temperature-sensitive products, increasing sustainability and reducing waste, thereby also contributing to the health of the planet, which aligns with our sustainability programme WeQare.” “CCA members are focused on developing tangible programmes and backing projects which help reduce food waste and ensure that life saving pharma consignments safely reach their destination and this has never been more relevant than now,” said Stavros Engelakakis, Chairman, CCA.

LATAM Airlines has been awarded Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) a cargo handling contract extension at Barcelona Airport, Spain. Having initially appointed WFS in Barcelona in 2018, LATAM has now signed a new three-year agreement for WFS to handle cargo on board its Boeing 767 operations, carrying import and export shipments through Barcelona annually. “WFS is our partner for cargo handling services in Europe. The renewal of our contract for Barcelona is the reaffirmation that our relationship is based on WFS’ good quality service,” commented Eva Penalva, LATAM’s regional operations manager, Cargo. Humberto Castro, WFS’ managing director – Cargo, Spain, said, “It is especially satisfying when our existing customers extend their contracts with WFS because it demonstrates that our handling teams are delivering the service levels, safety and security airlines need, and this is a tribute to their hard work. We remain committed to providing the best airport handling services to support the recovery and growth of the aviation industry in Spain.”

EL AL Israel Airlines is accelerating its digital presence with real-time eBookings, access to live rates, and visible air cargo capacity through WebCargo, a Freightos Group company. With the pandemic fueling digital adoption among both carriers and forwarders, EL AL is tapping into WebCargo’s platform. EL AL Cargo will be rolling out on WebCargo across a network covering the United States, Europe, and Asia, offering freight solutions for all types of customers and freight. This engagement enables more than 2,500 WebCargo forwarders across over 10,000 global branches instant access to capacity, pricing, and booking on EL AL Cargo. “Digital adoption has always been a top priority for EL AL, and as air cargo demand continues to rise, providing our customers with instant and accurate information is essential,” said Ronen Spira, head of EL AL Cargo division.

Lufthansa Cargo is now marketing the freight capacities of the new long-haul flights of Eurowings Discover. Europe’s leading cargo airline is thus adding further frequencies directly from Frankfurt to the range of services it offers its customers. Initially, routes to the Dominican Republic, Kenya, Namibia and Tanzania will expand the offer. As of today, the new Eurowings Discover flights will provide customers with two additional connections per week to Mombasa and Zanzibar. From the second of August, this will be followed by further supplementary services to Punta Cana with a weekly frequency of three flights, as well as to Windhoek on five days a week. “The integration of the freight capacities of Eurowings Discover makes the offer even more attractive for our customers,” emphasises Ashwin Bhat, chief commercial officer at Lufthansa Cargo. “The increasing frequencies ideally complement our existing connections and help our customers in times of still scarce capacities. We are also pleased to be able to make a valuable contribution to the success of the new Lufthansa Airline by marketing the new Eurowings Discover capacities.”

IBM and Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) operator of Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR) announced a ten-year partnership under which IBM and Kyndryl will provide the finest IT solutions. The plan is to create a new ‘Airport in a Box’ platform that will support transforming the end-to-end travel experience for passengers at BLR Airport. To achieve this goal, BIAL has selected IBM global business services, IBM hybrid cloud capabilities and Kyndryl, the new, independent company that will be created following the separation of IBM’s managed infrastructure services business, to design and implement a next generation architecture with robust and dynamic delivery model. The new platform will also enable BIAL to improve employee productivity, better utilization of IT assets, reduce costs through streamlined inventory control and improved incident management. IBM and BIAL will work to ensure that the platform supports BIAL’s commitment to sustainability and the community at large. BIAL recently achieved its goal of net energy neutral status in the financial year 2020-21, consuming energy from renewable sources.