Category Archives: Aviation

To help the air cargo industry in order to match the shipping needs with the availability of infrastructure capabilities and certifications of service providers across the value chain, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has launched IATA One Source. ONE Source lists the latest operational information on airlines, airports, cargo handling facilities, freight forwarders, ground handlers, shippers, and trucking companies. All critical information contained on ONE Source has been verified by IATA to help ensure its accuracy. IATA ONE Source is free for all service providers across the air cargo supply chain. The online programme is particularly timely amid the COVID-19 crisis when shippers of medical supplies and pharmaceuticals need accurate information for time- and temperature-sensitive shipments. “Air cargo has been essential in the global fight against COVID-19, transporting vital equipment and medicines to those who need them most. However, with over 3,500 differently sized cargo handling facilities worldwide, the industry until now has lacked visibility on the capacities and services these facilities can offer. The need for greater transparency is even more critical in the current context. ONE Source addresses this by providing a single reference point for up-to-date infrastructure and certification data, helping save time and keep air cargo moving,” said Glyn Hughes, Global Head of Cargo, IATA.

Kuehne+Nagel open airside pharma and healthcare hubs in Brussels, Belgium and Johannesburg, South Africa. With the opening of airside facilities, the company has added two strategic elements to its global GxP-certified network of temperature-controlled facilities for the distribution of vaccines and other pharma & healthcare products. As many of the temperature-sensitive products have very low to no stability outside of their stated temperature ranges, direct tarmac access at Kuehne+Nagel airside facilities even further minimises the risk of temperature excursions and ensures product integrity during the logistics journey. The new premises have dedicated areas for all ranges of temperature-sensitive products:

Logistics providers are challenged to rapidly establish medical supply chains to deliver serums of unparalleled amounts of more than 10 billion doses worldwide with first emergency use authorisations for COVID-19 vaccines expected to be effective in the last quarter of 2020. Currently, more than 250 vaccines across seven platforms are being developed and trialled. As COVID-19 vaccines have leapfrogged development phases, stringent temperature requirements (up to -80°C) are likely to be imposed for certain vaccines to ensure that their efficacy is maintained during transportation and warehousing. This poses novel logistics challenges to the existing medical supply chain that conventionally distributes vaccines at ~2–8°C. In the paper, DHL evaluates how the transport of vaccines as highly temperature-sensitive product can be managed effectively to combat the further spread of the virus

Under the Turant Customs programme, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBIC) have announced the roll out of faceless assessment at an all India level in all ports of import and for all imported goods by October 31. The pilot programme of Faceless Assessment was launched in Chennai on August 14 and was subsequently expanded to Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mundra and Visakhapatnam for goods primarily falling under Chapters 39, 84, 86 to 92, 72 to 83 and 50 to 71 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. The key elements of the Turant Customs programme are faceless, contactless and paperless customs clearance processes. This includes faceless or anonymised assessment, self-registration of goods by importers, automated clearances of bills of entry, digitisation of Customs documents. The phased launch of the Turant Customs programme in select ports of import was aimed at testing in a real-life environment, the IT capabilities as well as the responsiveness of the trade and Customs officers to the various initiatives. “The results have been reviewed and these have confirmed that the stated objectives are being met. The stage is now set for extending the Turant Customs programme across all Customs ports pan India and thereby ushering in a more modern, efficient, and professional Customs administration with resultant benefits for trade and industry”, CBIC noted.

Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI) has organised its first virtual Basic Air Cargo Program (BCAP) Training at all the ACFI Chapters viz. Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai on September 5, 2020 at pan-India basis. The programme was attended by record 107 participants from air cargo supply chain. The training programme was aimed for the benefit of air cargo industry contributing to Government of India’s Skill plans in the country. The online training by the expert faculties from air cargo industry was gainfully utilized by the participants as per feedback received from them. “Such platform would be helpful in bolstering business opportunities for the benefit of entire air cargo logistics industry in India,” the association says in its Linkedin post.

Keeping the movement of commodities stable, Schenker India has efficiently deployed weekly charters for both imports and exports between India and the US, Europe and Asian countries. The company has announced the success of a one-of-its-kind charter operation which started in April to extend supply chain support to customers in the healthcare and pharmaceuticals industry in India. The reduced passenger capacity and cancellations of cargo freighters created an opportunity for the industry to commence active charter offerings in these unprecedented times. To keep the supply chain resilient, DB Schenker’s complex operation of the charter in India supports customers in the manufacturing of vaccines, personal protective equipment and health care equipment. Operating a combination of B747F, A330F and B737F to and from India, Schenker India also provides weekly charters from India via Europe to Latin America and connections to China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore. For timely and quick deliveries, the complete process from charter enquiry to shipment arrival takes only five days. Vishal Sharma, CEO of the Cluster India and Indian Sub-Continent, DB Schenker said, “Charter operations are our endeavor to overcome the supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and meet the customers’ growing demand for the supply of essentials. Our preparedness with the business continuity plans allowed us to schedule exclusive full charter flights with reliable air cargo solutions to importers and exporters in the country. India is a priority market for DB Schenker globally and with our Global Flight Operations Program we enable our customers in India to keep their supply chains stable.” Our Global Flight Operations Program connects Mumbai with Frankfurt, Chicago, Atlanta (wheels up-wheels down in 29hrs) and Dubai (DXB-BOM only) on a weekly …

Talking about the journey of the airport during the COVID-19 time, Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Strategy and Development Officer, Bangalore International Airport (BIAL), says, “In pre-COVID times, Bengaluru Airport’s cargo capacities on airlines were distributed between freighter and passenger aircraft in the ratio of 40:60. However, following the lockdown, freighters have carried most of the cargo to/from BLR Airport. In the current scenario, with increasing demand and lack of cargo capacity on scheduled passenger aircraft, especially across international markets, DGCA has given special approval for operation of passenger flights as charter for cargo handling. As a result, about 40 per cent of our capacity is currently being served by Passenger to Cargo (P2C) consignments. We have witnessed a significant increase in the number of Cargo ATMs in April and May 2020. During this period, we were able to record a total of more than 2,200 Cargo ATMs at BLR Airport.

DHL Global Forwarding has announced the transportation of five containers and two bespoke gas cooler assemblies from Germany to India for DHL Industrial Projects Japan. “The majority of the operation had to be undertaken during hours of darkness. Our team provided an excellent system of lighting on the quayside and the ship’s gears necessary for safe loading operations ensuring successful delivery and zero accidents,” the company informed in its recent Linkedin post. The company has recently published a white paper on delivering stable logistics for vaccines and medical goods during COVID-19, and future health crises suggesting the need for public-private partnership for successful delivery of COVID-19 vaccine.

GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo has announced the commencement of Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI) Business Facilitation Center at its terminal. The FTCCI lends its support to the industry and government in promoting economic growth and cross border trade through its various programmes and initiatives. The FTCCI Business Facilitation Center will significantly benefit the exporters and cargo agents from Hyderabad and South India region. Presently, the exporters and cargo agents can get the ‘Certificate of Origin’ right at the GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo Terminal thus saving lot of travel time. The Center will also offer Visa Recommender Letters for overseas travel for business promotion. There will be time saving for documentation for export shipments specially for perishable shipments like fruits, vegetables and marine export shipments, which are to be exported in a time-bound manner to maintain the freshness of the produce.

According to Amar More, CEO, Kale Logistics Solutions, “If we leverage this opportunity, we will be at a different level of automation and this has happened in the past as well. After the 9/11 incident, most of the electronic communications got a major boost when US customs and border protections wanted information in advance. Our industry woke up and suddenly there was EDI flowing all around. Then the Yemen incident happened, and then there is big rush on providing a date before the aircraft is loaded. This kind of crisis has always created the pleading ground for higher technology adoption, and I am extremely confident it will take our industry, especially India to a new level,” he added