Category Archives: Aviation

SpiceJet has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pluss Advanced Technologies (PLUSS) for the supply of indigenously developed precise temperature control boxes required for maintaining the effectiveness of the vaccine during transport. According to the MoU, PLUSS will supply its patented product – Celsure®, developed using its proprietary Phase Change Material technology, for transportation of the Covid-19 vaccines from the manufacturer to different parts of the country. The product will be co-branded especially for SpiceJet’s cargo division Spice Xpress and will be made available at various locations across the country. While transporting pharmaceutical products, biological products or vaccines in particular, the need to maintain precise temperature ranges is very important and the efficacy of vaccines can be impacted if the temperature goes above or below the specified range. PLUSS, an India based material solutions company has designed and manufactured a precise temperature-control delivery solution that is required for vaccine delivery to the last mile. “At PLUSS, we have been continuously working towards playing our role in getting India ready to effectively combat the COVID-19 pandemic, once the vaccine is approved for use. We are particularly happy to join forces with SpiceJet to ensure the delivery of the vaccine using the safest and fastest mode. SpiceJet flies to many non-metro locations and that will help the vaccine reach to the rural hinterlands of India,” says Samit Jain, MD, PLUSS. “Pluss has been a pioneer in ‘Phase Change Material’ based temperature control solutions in India and will be the appropriate partner as we plan on moving the temperature sensitive Covid-19 vaccines across the country. Spice Xpress has the biggest cargo fleet with more than 17 flights. We can cover …

SpiceJet has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo (GHAC) to provide a seamless service to all vaccine manufacturers in the region. As part of this association, SpiceXpress – the cargo arm of SpiceJet – envisions to provide efficient, speedy and reliable solution for vaccine delivery, while also creating a sustainable cold chain network. SpiceXpress aims to provide the first mile pick up and last mile delivery to carry COVID–19 vaccines across the domestic and international markets in a temperature-controlled environment. Under the MoU, GHAC shall provide available required space on priority for SpiceJet’s vaccine shipments besides training its personnel along with the airline for specific customer requirement. SpiceJet on its part will keep a dedicated fleet of freighters including wide-body aircraft at Hyderabad airport to handle all domestic and international consignments. Hyderabad, which is already at the centre stage of India’s Covid-19 vaccine development programme, is expected to be a key hub in the manufacturing and distribution of the vaccine both domestically as well as globally. The association between SpiceJet and GHAC will aid the manufacturers in the region by ensuring seamless delivery of the vaccine. Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, SpiceJet said, “We are delighted to have GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo as a partner in our fight against the pandemic. Delivering Covid-19 vaccines safely not just within India but across the globe is a task we are fully committed to. With strong partners and our capability to transport extremely sensitive drugs and vaccines in controlled temperatures of up to -40°c, we feel that we are fully prepared to assist in the biggest vaccination drive in the history of mankind.” As part of its …

Emirates SkyCargo has flown COVID-19 vaccines, manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech, to the UAE for the first time for the Dubai Health Authority (DHA). On arrival at DXB, the containers with the vaccines were unloaded on priority from the aircraft and then taken to Emirates SkyCargo’s dedicated pharma facility Emirates SkyPharma to await clearance for delivery. Nabil Sultan, Emirates Divisional Senior, Vice President, Cargo says, “At Emirates SkyCargo we are doing our part to join Dubai’s efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the effective management of the pandemic by Dubai’s visionary leadership, the city has retained its position as a global logistical hub for connecting vital cargo including PPE, medical supplies, vaccines, food and other essential items. Emirates SkyCargo has set up the world’s largest airside hub dedicated to distributing COVID-19 vaccines and we stand ready to support not just Dubai, but countries around the world, including markets with limited cool chain infrastructure with our advanced capabilities. By transporting COVID-19 vaccines across our extensive network, we look forward to helping people around the world get back on their feet after the devastating impact of the pandemic.” Emirates SkyCargo is no stranger to transporting vaccines and other temperature sensitive pharmaceutical cargo. The carrier has more than two decades experience in transporting pharmaceuticals on its aircraft and has set up state of the art EU GDP certified facilities dedicated for storing and handling pharma cargo in Dubai. Emirates SkyCargo has also established a global Pharma Corridors programme working with ground handlers and local airports at major pharma origin and destination stations for enhanced cool chain protection. The current pharma network covers over 30 cities across the world including Brussels.

In view of the approvals of various COVID-19 vaccines in many countries, Lufthansa Cargo has announced that the cargo carrier is well prepared for their global distribution in the coming months. Air freight is indispensable for the fast and reliable intercontinental distribution of highly sensitive pharmaceuticals. Therefore, a dedicated task force has prepared a variety of possible transport scenarios since spring. “The distribution of temperature- and time-sensitive pharmaceuticals is extremely demanding. We were one of the first airlines to specialise in the transport of medical goods and pharmaceuticals and can therefore draw on many years of experience. Thanks to the recent expansion of our ground infrastructure, we can also handle larger volumes and transport them worldwide while supporting our customers to maintain the cold chain,” explained Peter Gerber, CEO, Lufthansa Cargo. “In 2019, we transported around 100,000 tonnes of pharmaceuticals. We are ready to make another important contribution to overcoming the pandemic by distributing the vaccines worldwide.” While the transport of COVID-19 vaccines is already available with Lufthansa Cargo the company now announced a premium product to its customers that was specifically developed for the transport of COVID-19 vaccines. The product called COVID-19 Temp Premium will be bookable as of January 11, 2021 and will provide a high level of comprehensive and personalized customer service along the travel chain, including seamless monitoring of vaccine shipments throughout the entire process and a 24/7 after sales support. Additionally, COVID-19 Temp Premium includes high priority capacity access, Lufthansa Cargo’s fastest speed option in combination with temperature focus and a comprehensive security concept as well as bookability throughout the entire Lufthansa Cargo network. For the transport of pharmaceuticals, three temperature ranges (based on the …

In a bid to transport COVID-19 vaccine across the country, SpiceJet and Skyways Air Services have announced a joint initiative. While SpiceJet will provide connectivity across its pan India network with full temperature mapping controls, Skyways Air Services will provide cold chain transportation and storage along with the dedicated last-mile connectivity. In addition, Skyways Air Services will provide custom brokering services, wherever required in India, Germany and USA. The MoU was signed by Sanjiv Gupta, CEO, SpiceJet and Yashpal Sharma, Managing Director Skyways Air Services.

Calling logistics a sector that has a lot of prominence in terms of delivery of services especially during the times of pandemic, Vandana Aggarwal, Sr. Economic Adviser, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, says, “ Indian logistics has matured to the extent during Covid times that we have seen logistics meet the extraordinary circumstances which were met globally. In this new normal, logistics needs to have automation, safety, fast delivery, ensure performance in the supply chain, and leveraging multimodal transportation. We must harmonize the law in a measured way and meet the financial requirements. We need to focus on building a robust infrastructure for meeting future demands.” She emphasised that we need to work on integrating the individual supply chains and there must be advanced preparedness of issues. Aggarwal expresses these viws at PHD Virtual Logistics Conclave 2020 .

The newly launched Hope Consortium, a UAE-based public-private partnership, has bolstered its distribution reach following a strategic agreement with leading international freight forwarders. The latest consortium partners, which include Agility, Aramex, Hellmann and Kuehne + Nagel, will help address the different steps of the logistical challenge, including ‘last mile’, with a capacity of billions of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine doses by the end of 2021. Spearheaded by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, the Hope Consortium appointed these global transport companies based on their expert abilities and reach to safely and effectively deliver vaccine doses under cold and ultra-cold conditions (temperature bands 2-8 C, -20 C and -80 C) between transportation hubs, warehouses, medical facilities and other final destinations in over 170 countries. Representing the top global and Abu Dhabi supply chain solution players, the Hope Consortium consists of Etihad Cargo, Abu Dhabi Ports, Rafed – the healthcare purchasing arm of Abu Dhabi-based ADQ and Switzerland’s award-winning SkyCell, which develops next-generation, temperature-controlled logistics containers for the pharmaceutical industry. H.E. Dr. Jamal Mohammed Alkaabi, Undersecretary of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, says, “The Hope Consortium’s success relies upon the collaboration of public sector entities and leading private sector companies across the global logistics supply chain. The addition of Agility, Aramex, Hellmann and Kuehne + Nagel provides solid support and expertise to address multiple challenges, including the ‘last mile’ vaccine distribution challenge. This partnership demonstrates the unrivalled global strength of Hope Consortium.” “The Abu Dhabi-backed Hope Consortium has quickly and effectively garnered the attention and support of the world’s leading logistics players. Today’s announcement is testament to the sector’s ambition to overcome the complex challenges inherent in transporting sensitive cargo of …

With the Brexit transition period ending on January 1, Air Charter Service has started to secure exclusive capacity for its customers by contracting a UK-registered BAe 146 freighter. The aircraft is potentially the first of several options that ACS is securing in order to ensure that, in the scramble for capacity due to Brexit disruption, it can continue to offer its clients competitive solutions. As the aircraft is UK-registered, there will be no need for permits to fly into the country. Dan Morgan-Evans, Group Cargo Director, Air Charter Service, says, “Whether there is a trade deal between the UK and EU or not, it is clear that there will be disruption ahead at the UK border. According to government statistics, if even a small percentage of cargo coming through the UK’s sea ports in January requires transportation by air due to the disruption, there would be a significant requirement for airfreight – the equivalent of filling thousands of Boeing B747 freighters, in some scenarios. With the continued lack of belly capacity potentially exacerbated in January by this anticipated spike in demand, charter aircraft will have to pick up the shortfall. “The Bae 146 was identified as an ideal aircraft in many of our simulated scenarios, which included looking at the possibility of landing at smaller airports in the event of cargo congestion at major airports. However, there are a limited number available, especially on the G register. Whilst we can already source all the 146’s on the market reactively like many other brokers, we felt that exclusive use of this aircraft would give ACS customers an advantage, should the situation escalate. We have a long history of dealing with these …

According to data provider WorldACD, Air cargo’s gradual demand recovery slowed in November, but there were signs that volumes were picking up again in December. The company’s data for the month of November shows that in ‘a year like no other’ volumes declined by 12.6 per cent year on year but rates experienced their strongest increase since the months of April and May. The demand decreases lags behind performance in October, with volumes down by 2 per cent. Despite this, rates were on the up. “Yields/rates in November are usually about 4 per cent above those in October; this year the increase was 11.2 per cent, from US$2.97 per kg to US$3.30,” WorldACD said. WorldACD added that overall capacity went up by 1 per cent from October to November, with freighter capacity decreasing by 1 per cent and cargo capacity on passenger aircraft increasing by 3%. “Asia Pacific was the only origin region growing its air cargo business between October and November by 3.2 per cent,” the data provider said. “Not surprisingly, given the large orders of PPE-goods, shipments above 5,000 kgs grew year on year, whilst all smaller weight breaks lost between 16 per cent and 29 per cent year on year.” It added, “Calling the air cargo market hot, would probably be the understatement of the year. The usual trends from the pre-COVID days seem to have become just faint memories.” Looking at preliminary figures for the first half of December; worldwide volume was 2 per cent higher compared with the first half of November, showing a better month-on-month trend than the trend from October to November. “Origin regions with the highest volume increase were Africa (+21 per …

Hubballi Domestic Airport is ready to house North Karnataka’s first dedicated domestic air cargo terminal, that would be expected to start functioning from February 2021. The Airports Authority of India – Cargo Logistics &Allied Services Company, has given in-principle approval for conversion of the old passenger terminal into the cargo handling section. Pramod Kumar Thakre, Hubballi Airport Director has stated that the upcoming cargo terminal shall have secured storage space for both inbound and outbound cargo, a dedicated room for valuables and dangerous goods, along with provision for commercial space that can be utilised by airlines, major freight forwarders/logistics players like postal authorities and e-commerce players. “The 700 square metre cargo terminal shall have annual cargo holding capacity 15,000 MT,” he said. Industries and progressive farmers of the region are hopeful that the commencement of the cargo terminal will boost the economy of North Karnataka.