Category Archives: Aviation

UNICEF has launched the Humanitarian Airfreight Initiative; under this landmark initiative, over 10 leading airlines are signing agreements with UNICEF to support the prioritisation of delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, essential medicines, medical devices and other critical supplies to respond to the pandemic. The initiative will also act as a global logistics preparedness mechanism for other humanitarian and health crises over the longer term. “Delivery of these life-saving vaccines is a monumental and complex undertaking, considering the sheer volumes that need to be transported, the cold chain requirements, number of expected deliveries and the diversity of routes,” said Etleva Kadilli, Director of UNICEF Supply Division. “We are grateful to these airlines for joining forces with the UNICEF Humanitarian Airfreight Initiative to support the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines.” The UNICEF Humanitarian Airfreight Initiative brings together the airlines covering routes to over 100 countries, in support of the COVAX Facility – the global effort aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. Based on the COVAX Facility’s indicative distribution and first round allocation plan, 145 countries will receive doses to immunize around three per cent of their population, on average, starting in the first half of 2021, subject to all requirements being met and final allocation plans. In addition to prioritising shipments of these life-saving supplies, the airlines will take measures such as temperature control and security, while also adding freight capacity to routes where needed. Their commitments are critical to the timely and secure delivery of vaccines and critical supplies. Safe, timely and efficient transportation of life-saving supplies is critical to supporting access to essential services for children and families. COVAX deliveries and the subsequent vaccination of frontline workers will support health and …

Antonov Airlines and Rhenus Projects Logistics USA completed the urgent transport from Ghana to India of a 54-tonne rotor used to generate power requiring immediate repairs. Fellow members of The Heavy Lift Group (THLG), Rhenus Project Logistics USA, chartered the flight to carry the 10.50 m long, 3.89 m wide, 4.13 m high rotor from Accra, Ghana, to Mumbai, India, and back. Antonov Airlines used loading equipment designed by its in-house engineering team, while the external cranes for loading and unloading at airport were arranged by Rhenus Project Logistics USA to ensure the highest levels of safety for the teams and cargo. Antonov Airlines developed technical instructions and Rhenus Project Logistics USA assisted the client in redesigning the skid to ensure the bladed rotor fitted inside the fuselage. “This transport operation required well-coordinated preparation and actions from both partners to fly such outsized and heavy cargo safely,” said Vladyslav Ishchuk, Commercial Executive, Antonov Airlines. “Antonov Airlines showcased its flexibility by providing the AN-124 aircraft on the required dates during an extremely busy period for the customer to minimise any disruption that could have been faced.” “Rhenus Project Logistics USA and Antonov Airlines have an association going back over 15 years, which has involved multiple charter performances for mutual clients and is a testimony to the strength and expertise members of THLG bring to their clients,” said Ritesh Nair, Global Sales Director at Rhenus Project Logistics USA.

Cargo services has begun at Kannur International Airport with the inauguration of air cargo complex at the airport. Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Civil Aviation has inaugurated the air cargo complex at Kannur Airport along with Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala Chief Minister and E.P. Jayarajan, Minister for Industry, Sports & Youth Affairs, Government of Kerala. The cargo complex at Kannur Airport has been developed in an area of 1200 sq mt and can handle upto 12000 metric tonne of cargo per annum. This is the fourth such airport in Kerala which has been set up in PPP model. An International Cargo Terminal will an area of about 6000 sq mts is also being developed at the airport. “The opening up of cargo complex will help open up new opportunities to our farmers and industries to find new markets and see that their products reach the customers in quick time,” Puri tweets.

sKart Global Express, a brainchild of Skyways, has launched its first Depot in Noida with an airline SpiceJet for first and last-mile logistics solutions. The association would benefit customers by adding more deliverable locations besides increasing the efficiencies by working on their strength which would enable them to enhance their capabilities. Uniqueness of Skart’s solution is to provide product as per customers’ requirement of speed & cost for each consignment with complete visibility & ease of making payment without any major contractual commitments thus enabling them to focus on their core job. Speaking at the launch, Yashpal Sharma, Managing Director, Skyways Group said, “We are delighted to announce our partnership with SpiceJet with the launch of our First Depot in Noida. SKart will do the first and last-mile operation along with our other group company Phantom Express for the customers in NCR. This partnership will be enhanced to other parts of India over the next few months and will hope to cover 0ver 12000 zip codes by the middle of 2022” In spite of this sector contributing 6 per cent to GDP, 33 per cent to the manufacturing sector output and about 45 per cent to the country’s exports this sector is plagued with various limitations. One of the key elements is the lack of access to technology and limited logistics service options for taking their products to domestic or global customers besides higher costs. These have been the major impediments for growth of SMEs. To stress on the growth narrative further, Sanjeev Gupta, CEO, of SpicExpress adds, “We are delighted to have sKart as our partner in Delhi NCR region to help build out our air logistics business. It …

To further enhance its pharma handling capabilities globally, dnata has added four high-tech ‘cool dollies’ to its Australian cargo fleet, becoming the first air services provider to offer a fully integrated, temperature-controlled cool chain for pharma and perishable shipments in this important market. Offering a closed, temperature-controlled system, the specialised containers will ensure safe and seamless delivery of temperature-sensitive goods, including pharmaceuticals and vaccines, between aircraft and dnata’s state-of-the-art cargo facilities. dnata will operate two cool dollies each at Sydney Airport (SYD) and Melbourne Airport (MEL), providing maximum safety to airline partners and their customers at every stage of the handling process. Dirk Goovaerts, dnata’s Regional CEO for Asia Pacific, said, “We are thrilled to be the first cargo handler in Australia to launch advanced cool dollies in our operations. Our latest investment underlines our commitment to ensuring reliable and safe end-to-end transportation of pharmaceutical products across the supply chain. We stay focussed on providing continual improvements that enhance the safety and security of our customers’ pharma shipments.” Vanessa Orth, Chief Commercial Officer, Sydney Airport, said, “Sydney Airport has played a pivotal role throughout the COVID-19 crisis, facilitating the movement of essential workers, medical supplies, agricultural exports, and thousands of people going and coming home. We applaud dnata for their investment in the resilience of Australia’s pharmaceutical supply chain, an investment which will ensure Sydney Airport continues to play its central role in the nation’s air cargo network.” Shane O’Hare, Chief of Aviation, Melbourne Airport, said, “We congratulate dnata for investing in cool dolly services, which will enable greater movement of temperature-sensitive goods around Australia. The product will certainly add to dnata’s existing cargo capability at Melbourne Airport which is …

LATAM Cargo Group had a positive performance during the 2021 Valentine’s Day season, which, together with Mother’s Day (April and May) represents the peak of the fresh flower export activity. In 2021, the company carried 7 per cent more flowers than in 2020, totaling more than 13,200 tonne. The good figures are due to LATAM Group’s uninterrupted operations in Colombia and Ecuador, despite the big challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of capacity. In fact, the Group has increased its online offering to satisfy the needs of its customers –in this case flower producers– who depend on connectivity and exports to sustain their businesses. For example, during the season that began three weeks before Valentine’s Day –January 18 through February 09– LATAM Group took off some 225 times from Bogota, Medellin and Quito with their loads of roses, spray roses, alstroemeria and gerberas from Colombia, and roses, gypsophila and alstroemeria from Ecuador to the United States. Miami is the main transit destination for fresh flowers and is also one of the world’s largest distribution hubs and home to the cargo operations of LATAM Airlines Group. From here, flowers are distributed primarily towards North America and Europe. Compared to a regular period, in Colombia the company carried 7 per cent more tonne per week during the Valentine’s Day season, successfully serving the demand from the flower sector. In Quito, Ecuador, capacity was added to transport the flower production to Miami, increasing the number of tons carried each week by 7 per cent, and raising capacity to Amsterdam (The Netherlands), the second destination for Ecuadorian flowers. “It is in times of difficulty like the current pandemic that our commitment to …

SpiceJet has launched its first dedicated freight service connecting Vijayawada with other parts of the country. The airline operated its first freight flight SpiceXpress from Vijayawada to Kolkata carrying 15 tonnes of cargo. Speaking on the occasion, G Madhusudana Rao, Vijayawada International Airport Director said that a domestic cargo facility was launched at the old terminal building in June, 2018 and the services commenced in August. About 40 tonnes of cargo is handled per day through Airbus-320 and Boeing 707 in a 200 square metres area. In the last seven months, the terminal has handled a cargo capacity of 400 to 450 tonnes of aqua products like shrimp and fish to other parts of the country. The newly-launched freight service will be operated between Vijayawada and Kolkata thrice a week to transport aqua products from the fish ponds and sea within 200 km radius of Vijayawada. “We are requesting the aqua farmers and traders to make use of the cargo facilities launched from the terminal to export perishable goods from Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and twin Godavari districts to Kolkata, Mumbai and Surat at affordable prices,” the Airport Director said. He further said that steps are being taken to develop a designated building in an extent of 2,500 square metres for handling exclusive cargo operations along with a cold storage facility. Vijayawada International Airport Director G Madhusudana Rao, along with SpiceJet Regional Manager Ravi Kumar and Shreepa Logistics CEO Rama Rao, launched the facility on the Gannavaram airport terminal premises on Saturday.

Frankfurt Airport (FRA) cargo throughput (comprising airfreight and airmail) rose by 18.1 per cent to 176,266 metric tonnes in January. Despite the ongoing lack of capacity for belly freight (transported on passenger planes), Frankfurt Airport recorded its second-highest January cargo month ever. Factors contributing to the growth in cargo tonnage included the later timing of the Chinese New Year, which is being celebrated in February2021. Last year, this typically low-traffic holiday occurred in January. Aircraft movements at FRA contracted by 63.7 per cent to 13,196 take offs and landings. Accumulated maximum take-off weights (MTOWs) decreased by 54.5 percent to some 1.1 million metric tonnes. The airports in Fraport’s international portfolio reported mixed results for January 2021, but all of them experienced traffic reductions compared to the same month last year. The pandemic situation in the respective airport regions or countries was the primary factor impacting passenger traffic during the reporting month.

The CMA CGM Group is stepping up its strategic development in logistics by creating a specialised air freight division CMA CGM Air Cargo. This move into airfreight strengthens the Group’s transport and logistics business, allowing it to offer its customers a new range of comprehensive, agile and customised solutions. To support its expansion into air freight, the CMA CGM Group is buying four 60-tonne-payload Airbus A330-200F freighter aircraft, which came into service between 2014 and 2016. With a range of 4,000 nautical miles, they will connect Europe with the rest of the world. The CMA CGM Group will entrust the operation of its freighter fleet to a European airline. CMA CGM Air Cargo represents a major new component of the CMA CGM Group in both operational and commercial terms. This expansion into air freight is a new milestone in the Group’s strategic development, with the aim of providing Group customers with a complementary range of services covering both shipping and logistics. Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO, CMA CGM Group, says, “In response to the growing demand from our customers for agile logistics solutions, we are creating a new division within the CMA CGM Group dedicated to air transport: CMA CGM Air Cargo. This division will launch with four Airbus A330-200F aircraft and will leverage commercial partnerships with airlines in order to deliver global coverage. This is a major milestone in the development of our logistics services.”

While noting airport’s significant role in shipping COVID-19 vaccine around the globe, Brussels Airport has highlighted continued growth in its airfreight volumes since last summer. The air cargo volumes have again recorded significant growth, up 21% on January 2020. Brussels Airport continues to do better than the average growth seen in Europa and worldwide which is negatively impacted by the strong decrease in the number of passenger flights operated by wide bodies. In January, air cargo volumes in the full-freighter segment grew sharply by 73% compared to the same month in 2020. Integrator services too recorded strong growth compared to last year (+37%). These strong growth figures largely compensate for the limited volumes of belly cargo carried on passenger flights. And for once, trucked air cargo also records an increase (+10%), after several months of negative growth. The total volume of goods handled by the logistics platform at Brussels Airport grew significantly (+ 18%) in January, totalling to 58,311 tonnes. The transport of COVID vaccines, which is sure to continue all through the year, has found in Brussels Airport a top-notch logistics hub, specialised in temperature-sensitive goods, particularly pharmaceuticals. Imports from Asia and North America are recording strong growth compared to the same month last year. On the exports side, we find that the volumes towards Asia in particular are doing well. We also note a positive impact on air cargo volumes related to Brexit.