Category Archives: Aviation

Responding to market demand for additional cargo capacity, Emirates SkyCargo has started utilising its Airbus A380 aircraft on select cargo charter operations to transport urgently required cargo across its network. The first dedicated Emirates A380 ‘mini-freighter’ has successfully transported medical supplies between Seoul and Amsterdam via Dubai. Working collaboratively with the Engineering and Flight Operations teams within Emirates, the air cargo carrier has optimised the cargo capacity of the Airbus A380 to safely transport around 50 tonnes of cargo per flight in the bellyhold of the aircraft. The cargo carrier is working on further optimising the capacity of its Airbus A380 aircraft through measures such as seat loading of cargo and has planned more dedicated cargo flights on aircraft for the month of November. The freight division of Emirates offers a variety of options for cargo capacity and connectivity to best match its customers’ requirements. Emirates SkyCargo operates dedicated cargo flights on its Boeing 777-F and its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft including 14 modified Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft with seats removed from Economy Class for additional cargo volume. Through its responsiveness and agility, the air cargo carrier has been able to maintain the flow of essential goods and trade across international markets during the pandemic, often providing a much required helpline to communities around the world.

In anticipation of the marketing of 15 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines, Bolloré Logistics has taken the initiative to create a task force composed of experts from its network with a view to designing logistics solutions ensuring the seamless distribution of the vaccines as soon as they are marketed. Bolloré Logistics has for many years invested in infrastructures, human resources and technologies to boost its capacities in the health sector. The company brings its customers complete solutions, both internationally and locally, in compliance with the best distribution practices in the pharmaceutical industry. The controlled-temperature transport of Covid-19 vaccines is a major challenge, as some of them will need to be kept at a temperature of between +2°C and +8°C and others at a very low temperature of around -70°C. As such, Bolloré Logistics is planning ahead and preparing for all possible scenarios, including active and passive packaging solutions. The company, which has obtained CEIV Pharma certification, will rely on its own resources as well as those of its existing subcontractors to transport vaccines by air in respect of the cold chain. Supplementing these solutions, Bolloré Logistics’ collaborative platform will provide complete visibility of the supply chain and, via the Healthcare control tower available 24-7, address any potential issues (including delays, temperature differences and damage). “Ahead of the marketing of COVID-19 vaccines, we have rallied all our skills and resources to meet the logistics challenges to come. We are ready to fully play our role in the global distribution of the future vaccines alongside all the concerned players, particularly pharmaceutical laboratories and international organisations,” said Olivier Boccara, Global Chief Commercial Officer, Bolloré Logistics.

The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) has announced that Glyn Hughes will take the newly created role of Director General of the association. He will manage the team, work with the Board of Directors, the members and the industry partners to establish and implement TIACA’s vision and strategic objectives and advance the overall cargo agenda. Hughes is set to start his tenure at TIACA in February 2021. “Over the past year TIACA has fundamentally transformed itself which will enable the association to serve its current members better with greater relevance and attract new ones. I fully support TIACA’s new direction and its unique position to unite and represent the entire airfreight industry. I will be honoured to work with such an engaged Board of Directors, the team and the members to implement TIACA’s new vision and mission,” states Glyn Hughes. “Our industry is and will be facing challenging times ahead and I am determined and excited to contribute to making it stronger and to work with all to lead this industry towards a more efficient and sustainable future.” Hughes brings over 36 years of industry experience including leadership roles in air cargo, passenger, financial, training and industry affairs. Before joining TIACA, Hughes led a team of cargo experts at IATA, as its Global Head of Cargo. “Although the COVID-19 crisis has brought a spotlight on air cargo working hard to deliver essential medicine and supplies fast and safely, despite the global lockdown, the global pandemic has also highlighted the urgent need for air cargo to accelerate its digital and sustainable transformation, to develop collaborative business models and speak with a united voice to come out of this unprecedented crisis more …

Express expects unprecedented online shopping and shipping volumes during the upcoming peak season of 2020. With continued globalisation and the Covid-19 pandemic driving consumers to shop online like never before, especially during upcoming mega shopping days such as ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Singles Day’, DHL Express is expecting an all-time high in e-commerce trade around the globe. Having already experienced around 35% e-commerce shipment volume growth in 2020, the upcoming peak season will further accelerate this and result in more than 50% higher shipment quantities compared to last year’s peak season. “The pandemic has resulted in an exponential rise in online shopping. With most physical stores closed altogether during the lockdown, and those that are open hindering people’s ability to social distance, many consumers have switched to e-commerce. While our economy is opening up and people are cautiously venturing out, the online purchasing trend will continue this festive season,” said R.S Subramanian, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, DHL Express India. He adds, “DHL Express is a key enabler of trade globally, and our mission of Connecting People and Improving Lives has been so apt in the current circumstance. Beyond the immediate response to the pandemic, logistics will be key to supporting long-term economic recovery for the nation.” “Over the years, we have seen consumers and even businesses shift their purchases online, but the pandemic has truly pushed the trend to leapfrog a few years ahead,” said Ken Lee, CEO, DHL Express Asia Pacific. “At DHL Express, it is our mission to enable global trade and support our customers during the most important days of their business. The upcoming peak season will be challenging to the logistics industry, but we stand …

IAG Cargo has launched a preighter service with carrier Iberia Airlines utilising A330 wide-body aircraft. The aircraft has been modified by IAG Cargo’s sister company Iberia, and comes ahead of the peak season for air cargo and as demand for cargo services grows. The A330 ‘preighter’ service – an Iberia wide-body passenger aircraft with all the seats removed – will be serviced by IAG Cargo, providing extra capacity to deliver the logistics programs for its customers across the world. The new service will commence four times a week between Los Angeles and Madrid and provides much needed capacity ahead of the peak season. It took the team just a week to remove the seats on the plane and just a few weeks to fully convert the aircraft. The operation has seen all Economy, Premium Economy seats and crew rest removed along with separation panels. Carpeting was reinstalled with lights indicating the 33 cargo positions. Cargo will be held in place with netting fastened to floor rails where the seats were anchored. The aircraft now has the capacity to carry over 200 cubic metres of cargo. “It’s been exciting to work with Iberia to provide this service, which will enable our customers to keep operating at optimum speed and efficiency. We are seeing increasing demand from customers and shippers for a more tailored service, which is increasingly important as we approach peak season. For distant markets, air freight makes a global logistics program possible,” said Fernando Terol Armas, Director of Spanish Hub and Operations at IAG Cargo.

With an aim to meet customer demands, Delta Cargo has launched cargo-only flights between the United State, Europe and India. There are daily cargo-only flights between New York-JFK and Madrid that operate using a Boeing 767-400 aircraft providing customers with capacity to ship fashion goods to the United States ahead of the holiday season. In addition, there is a three times weekly cargo-only flight between New York-JFK and Dublin that is operated by an Airbus A330-300, as well as cargo-only flights operating between New York-JFK and Atlanta to Mumbai, via Frankfurt, using Airbus A330-200/300 aircraft. These aircraft are used to carry essential pharmaceuticals, vaccines, medical supplies and general cargo. “Given the travel constraints within Europe, we are strategically adding cargo capacity in Spain, Ireland and Germany to support overall passenger and cargo growth,” said Shawn Cole, Vice President – Cargo, Delta, in adding, “There is high demand for pharmaceutical shipments from India because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this cargo solution ensures we can keep vital supply chains moving to the United States.” Delta Cargo launched a cargo charter operation in March to provide safe and reliable transportation of goods around the globe by working primarily with Delta’s established world-leading logistics partners. Delta dispatched idled aircraft on cargo runs to transport millions of pounds of supplies quickly and safely. Delta has operated over 1,600 cargo charter flights since February and is now averaging more than 20 cargo-only flights globally each week, carrying medical and PPE equipment, pharmaceuticals, U.S. mail, home office supplies and food.

GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo (GHAC), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) to jointly promote International Export and Import Cargo through the launch of one-of-its-kind First Mile and Last Mile Cargo Bus Feeder Service (BFS) that would connect GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo Terminal to other parts of Telangana and neighbouring states. Saurabh Kumar, CEO, GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo and Sunil Sharma, Principal Secretary, TR&B and Managing Director, TSRTC signed the MoU in the presence of Puvvada Ajay Kumar, Minister of Transport, Government of Telangana. As per the MoU, TSRTC will start first-mile Pick-up and Delivery service to GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo Terminal. It will also provide the Last Mile Connectivity for International Import shipments landing at Hyderabad Airport for connections to hinterland areas in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. This partnership also envisages start of Reefer Cargo Bus Service that would provide reliable connectivity for Exports of Pharma and Perishable products through Hyderabad Airport. Speaking on this initiative, SGK Kishore, ED- South & CIO, GMR Airports, says, “This MoU between GMR Cargo and TSRTC is a strategic milestone towards developing a multi-modal air cargo corridor. Capitalising on the strong road connectivity in Telangana, excellent network of TSRTC along with the world-class facilities and global connectivity offered by GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo, the partnership will open up significant new business opportunities for all the stakeholders involved in International air cargo trade. This joint initiative will immensely improve value realization and boost the exports and imports from Hyderabad benefiting the Trade Community via a collaborative approach.” Puvvada Ajay Kumar, Minister for Transport, Government of Telangana, said, “This is a great beginning of …

In a bid to meet the requirement of new paradigm and the aspiration of the trade, CBIC has issued revised policy and guidelines for setting up new Inland Container Depots (ICDs), Container Freight Stations (CFSs) and Air Freight Stations (AFSs). The new policy takes into account the present capacity, future growth potential and regional imbalances and also addresses the need for bringing uniformity, transparency and seamless approval process. It further addresses the identified regulatory and logistics concerns associated with the hard and soft infrastructures of ICDs/CFSs/AFSs in India. The new policy establishes a framework of functional requirements pertaining to the design and operation of dry ports as well as establishes certain processes to enable sustainable growth of the sector. Lastly, the new policy aims to lay down appropriate institutional, administrative and regulatory frameworks for development and smooth operation of ICDs/CFSs/AFSs, including procedures for regulatory inspection and the execution of applicable customs control and formalities.

According to The International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) September data for global air freight markets, the speed of recovery in air cargo has increased slightly, however, remains depressed compared to 2019 levels. Asia-Pacific airlines saw demand for international air cargo fall 14.6% in September 2020 compared to the same month a year earlier. This was an improvement from the 16.4% fall in August 2020. Demand on routes between Asia–North America and Asia–Africa were strongest. International capacity remained constrained in the region, down 32%, despite airlines adding more capacity on many routes. Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs*), was 8% below previous-year levels in September (-9.9% for international operations). That is an improvement from the 12.1% year-on-year drop recorded in August. Month-on-month demand grew by 3.7% in September. Global capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), shrank by 25.2% in September (28% for international operations) compared to the previous year. That is nearly three times larger than the contraction in demand, indicating a severe lack of capacity in the market. Strong regional variations are emerging with North American and African carriers reporting year-on-year gains in demand (+1.5% and +9.7% respectively), while all other regions remained in negative territory compared to a year earlier. Improving performance is aligned with improvements in key economic indicators; • The new export orders component of the manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose above the 50-mark, indicating growth, for the first time since mid-2018; • The World Trade Organization revised their 2020 trade growth forecast from -12.9% to -9.2%; “Air cargo volumes are down on 2019, but they are a world apart from the extreme difficulties in the passenger business. For air cargo, 92% of the business …

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has achieved Envirotainer’s Qualified Envirotainer Provider Training and Quality Program (QEP) accreditation. QEP recognises carrier’s proficiency and capability in managing Envirotainer’s temperature-controlled container shipments in accordance with industry standards. SIA is the first airline to be accredited in South East Asia, and selected stations in the Airline’s network received their accreditation in the third quarter of this year. Envirotainer’s QEP accreditation provides additional reassurance to customers of SIA’s reliable and safe handling of pharmaceutical products. It also helps to position SIA to better serve the pharmaceutical sector, especially in the current Covid-19 climate. As of today, Europe and Asia-Pacific stations of SIA have received QEP accreditation: • Europe: Zurich (ZRH), Basel (BSL), Amsterdam (AMS), Brussels (BRU) • Asia-Pacific: Singapore (SIN), Melbourne (MEL), Sydney (SYD), Auckland (AKL), Osaka (KIX), Bangalore (BLR), Bombay (BOM) “The QEP program and its participants serve to ensure the quality of life of the patient”, said Chris Fore, Senior Cold Chain Advisor at Envirotainer, in adding, “QEP is both a benchmark and a means by which we engage our partners to provide consistent service and fulfill Good Distribution Practice requirements from pharmaceutical companies.” Chin Yau Seng, Senior Vice President – Cargo, SIA, says, “SIA is committed to continuous improvement of our capabilities in transporting pharmaceutical products. Getting Envirotainer’s QEP accreditation is an important validation of our capabilities, especially given the importance of getting pharmaceuticals, and eventually Covid-19 vaccines, safely and swiftly to customers during this pandemic. We will continue to ensure the quality and reliability of handling pharmaceutical cargo shipments across our network, while also looking for new ways to further enhance our THRUCOOL service.” Launched in September 2018, SIA’s THRUCOOL cold chain service …