Category Archives: Aviation

In reaction to the growing demand from various customers, the logistics provider has now extended its scheduled weekly charter services until the end of the year. The airfreight peak season is in full swing and industrial production is picking up again, especially in the automotive, high tech and retail industries. To help maintain customers’ supply chains, cargo-partner has been offering multiple weekly air charters from China and Hong Kong to Europe since March 2020. Stefan Krauter, CEO, cargo-partner, anticipates that the demand for charter services will remain high. He says, “Since the beginning of the year, we have received numerous requests for full- and part-charter transports of urgently needed goods, the majority of which came from the pharmaceutical, healthcare and PPE sectors. In recent months, we have also noticed a growing demand from the high tech and automotive industries. In view of the expected peaks in the coming months, we advise our customers to start planning early to secure their supply chains.”

Aramex has officially gone live with their rollout of WiseTech Global’s integrated logistics execution platform, CargoWise, across its global network. The CargoWise rollout represents an integral milestone in Aramex’s digital transformation journey that strategically leverages innovative solutions to satisfy evolving customer needs and allows the company to swiftly adapt to changing market conditions. The scope of the implementation will cover the freight forwarding product across Aramex’s global network. Aramex’s unique approach sees CargoWise implemented simultaneously across its worldwide network of 1,200 freight forwarding specialists, spanning Asia, Europe and the Middle East. CargoWise will support Aramex’s freight forwarding and customs operations and enhance the overall user experience for their employees and customers. “Through a single platform, CargoWise provides configurability, automation and real-time visibility across our global freight operations. The results will be a high ramp up of business benefits that will be felt across all the freight community of Aramex,” noted Mohammed Sleeq, Chief Digital Officer, Aramex. “The CargoWise rollout marks an exciting period of digital transformation for Aramex, and it supports their commitment to technological innovation enabling more efficient movement of goods globally,” observed Richard White, Founder & CEO, WiseTech Global.

Bolloré Logistics and Transport Intelligence has recently joined forces to jointly administer a global survey with 422 professionals (shippers, service providers and financial institutions) shedding light on the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis on the supply chain and future structural changes in the medium term. Administered in July and August 2020, the survey confirms that for 72% of respondents the Covid-19 crisis will shape the global supply chain on a lasting basis. Thirty-one per cent said that the remoteness of supply areas and their concentration in a limited number of countries could be reconsidered. However, 61% of respondents believe that the crisis will not call into question globalisation as a business model. The survey also reveals that the pandemic has heightened trends having emerged in recent years. These include the importance of real-time visibility of goods flows for increased responsiveness to unforeseen incidents (76%), the introduction of greater supply and flow-planning flexibility (64%), and sustainable development as a key performance criterion in logistics solutions (67%). “To control risks as part of the new situation created by the global pandemic, we are harnessing our capacity for resilience to foster the competitiveness of our customers internationally and to ensure supply-chain continuity. We are supporting our import and export customers in the recovery of their businesses by focusing on three objectives: the robustness of our transport plans, secured by alternative solutions; agility, with strong local expertise and empowered teams; and sustainability, by proposing eco-responsible solutions,” said Thierry Ehrenbogen, CEO, Bolloré Logistics. The survey results also highlight the positioning of Bolloré Logistics, which more than ever is asserting its ‘People Powered Innovation’ brand positioning by investing over the long-term in the company’s digital transformation …

To accommodate high demand during peak season, DSV Air Charter Network has increased the airfreight capacity by adding charter services. The company has added New York as a destination with part charters twice weekly from Belgium in Europe, beginning the week of October 19. Trucking connections from New York supports reliable feeding and distribution within the USA. It has also added an additional weekly round trip between Luxembourg and Huntsville. The company said its airfreight charter service is ideal for handling special cargo such as pharmaceuticals, electronics, oversized oil and gas equipment, helicopters, cars, radioactive and explosive cargo, as well as high-value goods. Mads Ravn, head of global airfreight procurement at DSV, commented: “Production is picking up across the transatlantic, and with belly capacity down by 50% year on year, we are again expanding the DSV air charter network to meet demand. “New York will be added this week with twice weekly part charters, and we are expanding our capacity on the legacy DSV Panalpina route from Luxembourg to Huntsville and back with a third weekly rotation.” DSV uses less congested airports — such as Luxembourg and Huntsville — in its air charter network “to ensure faster turnaround on the ground and reduce the risk of delays”.

IAG Cargo has restarted its direct service from the United Kingdom to Tokyo. The service will run year-round, three times per week from London Heathrow. Restoring the London – Tokyo service, which was paused due to coronavirus, will be welcomed by IAG Cargo’s customers on both sides of the Pacific. Tokyo is particularly significant for the export of pharmaceutical goods, which can be moved seamlessly using IAG Cargo’s Constant Climate service. This state-of-the-art cold chain product is specially designed to process time and temperature sensitive pharmaceuticals. Last year, the route played an important role in supporting the British Museum to transport over 200 pieces from Japan for a special manga exhibition, with the help of IAG Cargo’s Secure product. Alec Rayner, Area Commercial Manager for Japan & Korea, IAG Cargo, said, “Japan is an important part of our network and we are pleased to be reopening London Heathrow-Tokyo Haneda for our customers. The route is vital for them to stay connected with their trading partners worldwide, allowing the movement of Japanese pharmaceuticals, automotive and manufacturing goods to reach hundreds of destinations.”

With an aim to improve the sustainable transport of perishables and pharmaceuticals, The Cool Chain Association (CCA) and IATA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). As partners, the two groups will develop joint programmes including temporary task forces and round tables, for specific initiatives such as the transport of vaccines and life science products. They will also share feedback, experiences, knowledge, and best practice. As a first step, CCA took part in IATA’s recent webinar on the industry’s readiness for the transportation of vaccines and life science products. Nicola Caristo, CCA secretary general and airline partner manager, SkyCell, said, “Both CCA and IATA have a common interest in ensuring the secure handling and transport of perishables and pharmaceuticals by means of robust standards. “Through this agreement we are establishing a formal basis of collaboration to better assist the global industry to improve, as well as increasing sustainability and reducing waste. “We will be working together to promote the implementation of methodologies and quality criteria such as the Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) Fresh and Pharma programmes.” Meanwhile, CCA members are planning a new series of data sharing tests, under a project called the LAX Initiative, to monitor perishable shipments on global trade lanes in a bid to improve supply chain management and reduce food loss.

Hardeep Singh Puri, Civil Aviation Minister said he has requested Aviation Secretary P S Kharola to call a meeting on the issue of boosting cargo flight operations at the Amritsar airport. India follows a very liberal air cargo policy, the minister said on Twitter, adding that foreign and Indian carriers can operate scheduled international cargo flights from any point in India, including Amritsar and Chandigarh. “However, there was insufficient cargo aggregation at the Amritsar Sahib airport. I have requested the Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation to call a meeting on this issue and provide all necessary assistance to the state,” he said. In order to promote agricultural exports, the government launched Krishi Udan scheme in August under which landing and parking charges are waived by the AAI for each such cargo flight wherein agriculture product is more than 50 per cent of the total chargeable weight carried. Amritsar Sahib, Adampur, Bathinda, Pathankot, Chandigarh and Ludhiana airports are included in the Krishi Udan scheme, Puri said. Spicejet has undertaken 14 cargo flights on Delhi-Amritsar-Moscow route since April 2020. India’s decision to restrict foreign carriers’ non-scheduled cargo flights to major cities in India was taken to provide a level playing to the Indian airlines at a time when COVID-19 has significantly affected the aviation sector, Puri had said on Twitter. Indian aviation regulator DGCA had on September 18 said that foreign carriers can operate their non-scheduled cargo flights to and from six Indian cities; Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, only.

Continuing to serve numerous destinations worldwide in the coming half-year from its home hub in Frankfurt am Main (FRA), Lufthansa Cargo has published the winter schedule for its cargo aircraft. “We look forward to again offering our customers an extensive and dense network of freighter connections in the coming winter period. It perfectly complements the some 150 worldwide destinations currently offered to our customers via the belly capacities of Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings and SunExpress. In order to optimally meet demand, we will continue to manage our freighters flexibly in the coming months,” said Dorothea von Boxberg, Lufthansa Cargo CCO and Board Member Product and Sales. Between Europe and Asia alone, an average of 35 freighter connections a week are scheduled. Here, the focus will be on the Chinese metropolis of Shanghai (PVG), the South Korean capital Seoul (ICN), Japan’s capital Tokyo (NRT) and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKG). Also, scheduled destinations are China’s capital Beijing (PEK) and the West Chinese metropolis Chengdu (CTU), as well as several destinations in India, including Mumbai (BOM), Hyderabad (HYD), Chennai (MAA) and Bangalore (BLR). There are also scheduled flights to the Japanese conurbation of Osaka (KIX), the Thai capital Bangkok (BKK), the Vietnamese metropolis Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) and the Uzbek capital Tashkent (TAS). Cargo aircraft are scheduled to operate 34 times a week between Europe and North America. Chicago (ORD), New York (JFK), Los Angeles (LAX) and Atlanta (ATL) are among the most frequently served airports. In addition, Houston (IAH), Seattle (SEA) and Dallas (DFW) in the United States, Mexico City (MEX) and Guadalajara (GDL) in Mexico and Toronto (YYZ) in Canada are also included. The Norwegian …

Stepping up its readiness to handle the logistical complexities of distributing a potential COVID-19 vaccine globally, Emirates SkyCargo is creating the world’s first dedicated airside cargo hub for the vaccine in Dubai. The air cargo carrier has announced that it will be re-opening its Emirates SkyCentral DWC cargo terminal in Dubai South to serve as a dedicated anchor hub for cold chain storage and distribution of the vaccine. The freight division of Emirates has also set up a dedicated rapid response team to coordinate requests from the various partners involved in the international vaccine distribution ecosystem and to streamline the carrier’s response to vaccine transportation requests. HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates said, “Dubai is well positioned to serve as a gateway and distribution hub for COVID-19 vaccines to the rest of the world. We have the infrastructure and logistics connections, and a geographic location that puts markets representing more than two-thirds of the world’s population within an 8-hour flying radius. Over the years, through our continuous investment in capabilities and processes for the transport of temperature sensitive pharmaceuticals, Emirates SkyCargo has managed to position Dubai amongst major global pharmaceutical customers as the year-round preferred point of transit for their valuable cargo. Setting up a dedicated airside hub for COVID-19 vaccines is a keystone project harnessing our network, reach and competencies to positively impact the lives of people around the world.” The Dubai hub will allow the air cargo carrier to fly in vaccines from manufacturing sites globally, store and prepare shipments for regional and global distribution. Emirates SkyCentral DWC has over 4,000 square metres of temperature controlled GDP certified dedicated pharma storage area …

Uplifting a whopping 57616 kgs, Air Logistics Group with its partner Alitalia Cargo have surpassed their own record, within a week, of 54 tonnes from Delhi (DEL) to Rome (FCO) on October 3 and 53 tonnes from Mumbai (BOM) to Rome(FCO) on October 4. This is notably the highest ever tonnage for any airline to have achieved on a newly reconfigured B777-300ER. The selection of an optimum mix of high density cargo comprising of heavy auto parts & engineering goods together with pharmaceuticals, garments & spare parts carefully planned by the highly experienced and professional sales team, with efficient ULD planning, ensuring the ground handling and loading was done with great precision is the secret behind this mammoth achievement of 58 tonnes of freight on a single sortie ex DEL-FCO. Alitalia will now fly directly into Malpensa (DEL-MXP-JFK) effective October 23, thus giving a seamless & swift service into Milan & the United States for their customers in Delhi. Commenting on the achievement, Vikramjit Singh Ahluwalia, Managing Director – India, Air Logistics Group, says, “The milestone loads of 58 tonnes is a testament of the dedicated and committed efforts of the skilled ALG team, both sales & operations to select the correct freight mix, plan and execute the same with perfection and the overwhelming support we get from our esteemed freight forwarders.” “It is a moment of pride for Air Logistics Group & Alitalia Cargo who have been operating their weekly P2C flights from Delhi & Bombay since June 2020 and we shall continue to serve our customers in these challenging & ever changing pandemic times” adds Mr Ahluwalia. In current scenario of COVID-19, when passenger traffic seems to be …