Category Archives: Aviation

While interacting with air cargo industry experts at the Air Cargo Virtual Meet organised by ACFI on the theme of ‘Changing Consumption Patterns– Transforming Supply Chains’, Hardeep Sigh Puri, says, “In all our endeavours in our efforts against COVID, one sector which has outshone all others is air cargo. In April 2020, air cargo handled at Indian airports was just 17 per cent of April 2019 levels. By June 2020, it reached 60 per cent mark. In September 2020, it was 82 per cent. By January 2021, it was 94 per cent of the cargo handled during same period last year. We expect full recovery by March 2021.” “Green shoots are visible across the air cargo sector. Srinagar witnessed 300%+ growth in air cargo as compared to pre-Covid levels. Surat saw a growth of more than 200%. Guru Nagri Amritsar is close to 80 per cent and Varanasi saw a growth of 96 per cent in air cargo movement. These figures confirm our understanding that Civil Aviation is one of the critical drivers of economic growth as well as an important indicator of economic recovery. Aviation industry will soon bounce back to its full potential,” he adds.

Kale Logistics Solutions (Kale) has launched the next generation upgraded Artificial Intelligence based truck slot management through its flagship Airport Cargo Community System (ACS) to avert truck congestion in Airports across North America and other large airports of the world. Truck congestion is a big problem behind the scenes at some major U.S. airports. The coronavirus forced big industry changes that have exacerbated existing inefficiencies due to poor coordination and infrastructure. Long Truck wait-times are a growing problem for Airports and the allied supply chain stakeholders like Transporters, Customs Brokers, and Freight Forwarders. Truckers are waiting in line for hours to pick up and drop off cargo at Airports in North America. Airfreight customers already pay a premium for expedited service, so delays can be particularly costly. International passenger terminals may have little traffic, but at some airports there is so much cargo that frustrated businesses have to wait days for medical supplies and other imports arriving on planes. The unusually heavy cargo volume, driven by a surge in medical supplies to combat the coronavirus pandemic and e-commerce orders from homebound consumers, has exposed long-standing, systemic inefficiencies at major hubs. Manual intervention and document processing further affect the efficiency and the time consumed in cargo handling. Data entry at various stages consumes around 22 hours per shipment. The absence of proactive information to the cargo terminal operators leads to inefficient personnel and asset planning at the gates, peaks and idle times, and long waiting times for freight handlers or trucking companies. Kale Logistics Solutions’ new Artificial Intelligence based Truck Slot Management for Air Cargo helps ground handlers, freight forwarders, and trucking companies to better coordinate their landside freight management so …

In a major expansion of its international aerospace business, CEVA Logistics has been awarded a contract to manage production supply for Airbus at the aircraft manufacturer’s assembly site in Hamburg, Germany. CEVA will operate the production supply logistics on behalf of Airbus at multiple locations with a total area of 58,631 m². Among the services that will be provided are inbound, put away/storage, pick and prepare, marketplace, internal transport, delivery to point of use, returns, empties handling and external dispatch. Within the scope of the new contract, CEVA will initiate and implement logistics improvements and projects, using LEAN principles to further increase efficiency within the facilities. CEVA’s successful management of a spare parts and components contract for Airbus awarded in 2020 was key to the awarding of this new contract. “CEVA’s capabilities and commitment in aerospace logistics have once again been recognized by Airbus with the awarding of this new contract. Our two companies have successfully worked together previously on other projects, most recently in Hamburg on the spare parts and components contract. The depth of CEVA’s specialist knowledge in this industry, combined with its innovative operational and delivery solutions, have been key to securing this new business,” says, Mathieu Friedberg, CEO, CEVA.

DHL Global Forwarding has announced to deliver additional doses of Covid-19 vaccines on a weekly basis into Australian and New Zealand to support the countries’ inoculation programme. DHL Global Forwarding arranged for the collection and airfreight of the vaccines from the manufacturing site in Europe and upon the vaccines’ arrival in Australia and the Auckland Airport, handled the customs clearance and final delivery to the designated locations. “Logistics plays a critical role in getting vaccines to where it is urgently needed. Globally, across many markets, our cold-chain network and pharmaceutical logistics expertise have meticulously planned every last detail to manage an extremely complex operation seamlessly,” said Charles Kaufmann, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding North Asia & South Pacific. “The shipments were delivered on time, and most importantly, in the right condition according to strict requirements. That’s the result of many months of rigorous planning to ensure the vaccines are delivered within the fastest possible time while ensuring the quality, safety and security of these critical shipments,” said George Lawson, managing director, DHL Global Forwarding Australia. “The deliveries were smooth as can be expected, thanks to the significant effort and rigorous planning by the teams involved. Working in close coordination with our partners on the ground and New Zealand’s regulatory authorities, all measures have been taken to ensure not just the speed of deliveries, but also ensuring the quality and safety of these critical shipments,” said Zane Morton, managing director, DHL Global Forwarding New Zealand. Across DHL’s dedicated global network, more than 9,000 specialists work to connect pharmaceutical and research organisations, wholesalers and distributors, as well as hospitals and healthcare providers across the value chain. With this contract, the logistics expert for …

Kuehne+Nagel enters into a binding agreement to acquire Apex International Corporation (Apex), one of Asia’s leading freight forwarders, especially in the transpacific and intra-Asia. The company was founded in China in 2001 and has expanded throughout Asia and beyond over the years of its growth history. With approximately 1,600 employees, Apex generates yearly turnover in excess of CHF 2.1 billion. In 2020, the company handled total air freight volume of approximately 750,000 tons and sea freight volume of 190,000 TEU. Dr. Detlef Trefzger, CEO of Kuehne + Nagel International AG, says, “The combination of Apex and Kuehne+Nagel provides us with an opportunity to offer our customers a compelling proposition in the competitive Asian logistics industry, especially in e-commerce fulfilment, hi-tech and e-mobility. We are looking forward to welcoming the Apex colleagues to the Kuehne+Nagel family.” Tony Song, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Apex, adds, “With Kuehne+Nagel, we have found a strategic shareholder and logistics group with more than 130 years of heritage. We are sure that with this transaction, we will be able to add value for our customers’ supply chains and expand our global logistics network. We will complement Kuehne+Nagel’s existing global Air Logistics team while offering our management and key talents unique career opportunities.” The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including merger clearance by the competent competition authorities. The purchase price will be financed by available liquid sources and, if needed, by available credit lines. Following closing of the transaction, a minor stake of Apex shares is to remain with the experienced and entrepreneurial management of Apex. Furthermore, the company will then continue to operate separately within the Kuehne+Nagel Group. At this …

Responding to increased demand for airfreight transport options out of Europe, Dachser USA, a subsidiary of the global logistics provider Dachser, is expanding its dedicated Frankfurt-Chicago air cargo service with the addition of a second flight, scheduled for the weekday to compliment the current weekend schedule. Dachser USA has been successfully operating a dedicated Frankfurt-Chicago-Frankfurt air cargo service since end of July last year when demand for air transport began to increase due to pandemic-related supply chain disruption. The new route will be operated by American Airlines with B777/PAX freighters and will run every Wednesday from Frankfurt to Chicago. This additional dedicated air freight option will allow for more transit choices as Dachser’s extensive network continues to expand, innovate and deliver for its customers. Andy Frommenwiler, Vice President – Airfreight, Dachser USA, commented, “Many of our customers are shifting some of their shipments to airfreight transport because of the uncertainty surrounding ocean transport right now. As volumes increase, our recently launched dedicated Frankfurt-Chicago airfreight service continues to attract clients and is now operating at full capacity. In order to serve the growing demand for reliable and predictable service levels, we launched our new weekday service, which is already drawing new customers.”

MASkargo successfully flew in the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines to Malaysia. Over 300,000 doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine were transported via a passenger-to-cargo flight utilising the Airbus 330-300 aircraft in close collaboration with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Health, Pfizer and DHL Express. Captain Izham Ismail, Chief Executive Officer, MAG Group said, “Being the country’s national carrier, we take this responsibility of transporting the vaccines very seriously, as the success of the vaccination programme is key in helping the country achieve economic and financial recovery.” “Our skilled workforce and adequate infrastructure are vital points in ensuring the safe, secure and hygienic handling, transportation and distribution of the Covid-19 vaccines to Malaysia or any part of the world,” he said. The distribution of Covid-19 vaccines involves highly coordinated transport and security protocols to ensure their safe delivery to key hubs/points of vaccination. MASkargo has conducted live simulations and dry runs during its international and domestic scheduled flights in preparation for the various types of vaccines, of which each has different logistic requirements in Malaysia.

Qatar Airways operates 14 weekly flights from Dubai and daily flights from Abu Dhabi. In preparation for this much awaited recommencement of cargo sales and bookings in the United Arab Emirates, ECS has bolstered its local teams, with a dedicated team supervising the scheduled flights seven days a week. Ehab Matta, Senior Manager Regional Cargo – Indian subcontinent, Middle East and Pakistan, said, “We are delighted to be able to count on ECS Group, with who we share our values of service excellence and customer-centricity. Their perfect understanding of the airline’s processes and their excellent reputation in the region were key factors in our choice.” For the world’s leading GSA, the recommencement of cargo sales and bookings is excellent news for the region. “We welcome Qatar Airways’ return to the Gulf region. At ECS Group, all the teams in place are fully committed and are ready to support our partner, Qatar Airways Cargo, as they recommence cargo sales and bookings,” said Adrien Thominet, CEO of ECS Group. As of February 21, ECS Group, the leading GSSA, with its established presence in the region and strong partnership with the airline in over 20 countries, is supervising the management of cargo capacity via its subsidiary Globe Air Cargo.

SpiceJet has launched twice-weekly services between Singapore and three Indian cities – Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai. Operated under SpiceJet’s cargo arm SpiceXpress using a B737F aircraft, the new services will provide additional airfreight capacity between Singapore and India. The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a reduction in global air travel. To address the reduction in belly-hold cargo capacity due to the fall in passenger traffic at Changi Airport, Changi Airport Group (CAG) has been working closely with its airline partners who operate the Singapore-India route to ensure that supply chains are kept open. In 2020, India was Changi Airport’s sixth largest air cargo market, with cargo tonnage reaching 75,000 tonnes for the year. Between April and December 2020, SpiceJet operated over 230 chartered cargo flights, comprising freighter and cargo-only passenger flights, between India and Singapore. The air cargo capacity injected by SpiceJet has helped support air trade and the conveyance of humanitarian goods, including medical supplies and perishables, between the two countries. Lim Ching Kiat, Managing Director of Air Hub Development, CAG, said, “CAG has been engaging SpiceJet for several years to mount scheduled services to Singapore, hence we are pleased to welcome SpiceJet to Changi’s family of airlines. In these challenging times when air cargo capacity is constrained, the introduction of SpiceJet’s freighter service is much welcomed. The additional capacity helps support the transportation of essential goods such as medical and food supplies between the two countries.” Sanjiv Gupta, CEO, SpiceXpress, said, “This development would strengthen air trades between the two countries by providing faster and seamless logistics solutions. In addition, this strategic move would help SpiceXpress build its network in South East Asia. Singapore is also well-positioned as …

Cathay Pacific have flown the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines to Hong Kong onboard Flight CX391 from Beijing as the airline continues to support the Hong Kong SAR Government’s vaccination programme. Augustus Tang, Chief Executive Officer, Cathay Pacific, said, “This is an important milestone in Hong Kong’s fight against COVID-19 and we are immensely proud to be doing our part in this fight. It is a successful effort, which involves close collaboration with the Airport Authority of Hong Kong, and many of our industry partners and business associates. We stand ready to undertake future shipments using our vaccine solution product and support the Government in its community-wide roll out programme.” The one million doses of Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines were loaded inside six temperature-controlled Envirotainer e2 RAP containers to maintain the vaccine temperature range of 2-8 Degrees Celsius. The shipments were loaded closest to the aircraft doors to allow for priority unloading and upon arrival the aircraft was parked at the South Apron closest to the Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal at Hong Kong International Airport to reduce the towing time between the parking bay and the cargo terminal. Meticulous planning both within Cathay Pacific and with the shipper and forwarder in Beijing, as well as the consignee in Hong Kong, was critical to ensuring the utmost precision throughout the shipping process. As part of an airport-wide recertification of IATA’s CEIV Pharma accreditation (the internationally recognised quality-assurance scheme for pharmaceutical shipments) at Hong Kong International Airport, Cathay Pacific Cargo, Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal and ground-handling subsidiary Hong Kong Airport Services (HAS) have all been re-certified. This offers a complete level of quality assurance at every stage of the import and transhipment journey.