Category Archives: Aviation

Marking a major milestone in air cargo digitalisation, Qatar Airways Cargo has announced that the airline will provide forwarders with real-time pricing, capacity, and eBookings via WebCargo. Forwarders globally will soon be able to conduct real-time eBookings, access live rates, and see available capacity with Qatar Airways Cargo via the service of WebCargo, a Freightos Group company, providing critical agility as supply chains contend with COVID-19’s impact and disruption. Rollout will begin with France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, South Africa and Spain on February 7, 2021. As part of the launch, Qatar Airways Cargo will be offering the most competitive rates on WebCargo by introducing a discount scheme to forwarders*, resulting in an average saving of US$ 0.06 per kg for the first 20,000 shipments booked via the platform in these countries. The cargo carrier is determined to push the development of WebCargo bookings and will also implement a number of special promotions further in the year. As of Q1 this year, more than 2,000 WebCargo forwarders and customers across over 10,000 global branches will have instant access to capacity and pricing. Guillaume Halleux, Chief Officer Cargo, Qatar Airways, said, “We are pleased to partner with WebCargo to provide true agility and digital connectivity for our customers. As a leading global carrier, we rely on constant innovation and digitalisation across all our operations in order to provide our best-in-class customer service. During the past months, we have introduced several digitalisation initiatives such as online rate distribution, ad hoc rate automation, track and trace and availability via API. The future of air cargo is indeed digital and this change will definitely bring in efficiency across the supply chain.” Zvi Schrieber, Group CEO, …

Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB/ BLR Airport) has continued to maintain positive momentum as 33,053 Metric Tonnes (MT) of cargo were processed in December 2020. Working in close coordination with the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Ministry of Finance and BLR Airport’s cargo partners – Air India SATS and Menzies Aviation Bobba Bengaluru – this is the highest amount of cargo ever processed at BLR Airport for the month of December since Airport operations commenced in 2008. BLR Airport is the only airport in India to reach 100 per cent of the previous year’s tonnage for four consecutive months on a y-o-y basis – between September and December 2020. International cargo grew at 7%, with a throughput of 20,288 MT in December 2020 which is the highest in the last 21 months.

Cathay Pacific Cargo has launched ‘Skid Fire Containment Bag’ (SFCB) in the Indian market to ensure safe and convenient transportation of lithium-ion batteries with an unlimited loadable weight capacity. This innovative cargo solution is developed to fulfil the growing global demand for lithium-ion battery shipments. SFCB is an advanced and enhanced version of the earlier introduced ‘Fire Containment Bag’ (FCB) which had a limited loadable weight capacity of up to 50 kg for lithium-ion batteries. Currently, Skid FCB service has been rolled out to three ports of Cathay Pacific in India – Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai, and is also available in other ports across the network, namely – Hong Kong, Shanghai, Xiamen, Chongqing, Chengdu, Kansai, London, Taipei, Penang, Dhaka and will be progressively rolled out across Cathay Pacific and Air Hong Kong network in months to come. One of the key advantages of Skid FCB is that it is over five times larger and can exclusively be used for skid size shipments like larger-sized batteries used in e-vehicles. The Skid FCB is designed to transport hazardous cargo and is constructed of innovative fire-retardant material that can contain the fire within the bag, in case of the battery combusting. The bag limits the supply of oxygen, while letting the smoke escape triggering the smoke detectors on board, thus also safeguarding other shipments on board. Rajesh Menon, Regional Head Cargo – South Asia, Middle East and Africa, Cathay Pacific, says, “At Cathay Pacific Cargo, we take pride in providing our customers with holistic innovative solutions, while also ensuring the safe and secure delivery of all shipment. The support we received across our 50 ports for the Fire Containment bag has been overwhelming. …

Virgin Atlantic is set to increase its cargo-only flying by 60 per cent this January as its operation continues to go from strength to strength. Despite a decrease in passengers travelling due to the UK’s latest lockdown as well as travel restrictions in many destinations, demand to transport cargo remains strong and the airline’s cargo operation has adapted once more to a rapidly changing external environment. Virgin Atlantic Cargo has increased its capacity on key routes taking the airlines’ cargo-only rotations from 21 up to 33 per week this month – an increase of 60 per cent – keeping global supply chains running and transporting essential goods across the globe. The broad cargo destination offering includes daily flights between London and Brussels, offering seamless and speedy same day European connections for customers. The increase in scheduled operations comes as Virgin Atlantic Cargo celebrates a historic and record breaking year in 2020. The cargo business operated 4,000 cargo only flights and also launched 10 new routes. These included Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Dublin, Milan, Islamabad, Lahore, San Juan and Xiamen, an unprecedented feat during turbulent operating conditions and demanding trading environments. Dominic Kennedy, Managing Director, Virgin Atlantic Cargo, said, “The growth in our cargo-only flying this January demonstrates the agility and flexibility of our teams in order to maintain a resilient cargo operation in such dynamic market conditions. Despite a decrease in passengers travelling, demand to transport cargo remains strong and we’re delighted to play our part transporting a whole range of goods across the world, keeping vital global supply chains moving. The airline also continues to transport cargo on its scheduled passenger services to destinations including Atlanta, Barbados, Boston, New …

Aargus Global Logistics, who in the field of logistics pharmaceuticals, perishables and DG cargo for more than two decades, has recently unveiled 11500 sq feet state-of-the-art temperature-controlled warehouse at Delhi International Airport next to Terminal 3. The 4,000 sq ft temperature-controlled warehouse caters to the export and import of pharmaceuticals and perishables industry maintaining ambient temperature between 15-25 degree Celsius and two to eight degree Celsius. The facility will be operated under the guidance of a GDP certified team of the company. The company maintains the temperature monitoring systems necessary to safely store and distribute pharmaceuticals/fresh products through systematic qualification and validation process.

Registering a record quarter at the end of 2020, Budapest Airport has handled a total of 134,459 tonnes of air cargo in 2020 and dealt with 38,868 tonnes of air cargo in Q4. Ferenc Liszt International Airport handled 6,118 air cargo flights last year, 17.6 per cent more than in 2019. Cargo volume fell only a 0.8 per cent decrease from last year. Cargo charter flights transporting medical equipment and other healthcare supplies accounted for approximately 6 per cent of last year’s cargo traffic, which meant handling around 350 dedicated flights in 2020. “The fact that cargo traffic at Budapest Airport remained stable during this extraordinary year is attributable to the exemplary perseverance of the cargo community. It is our strong intention to maintain the organizing and supporting role of the airport in this work,” said Rolf Schnitzler, CEO, Budapest Airport, in addinh, “It takes numerous players, precise coordination and a strong base like the BUD Cargo City to handle the cargo traffic of the airport. We remain committed to continuously developing air cargo and the BUD Cargo City; in 2021, we will commence preparations for the second phase, the design and construction of more cargo handling facilities, warehouses, and offices.” József Kossuth, Cargo Manager, Budapest Airport noted, “We have numerous other development projects underway, including, for example, supporting digitization needs required for the work of the cargo community, or the introduction in Hungary of the IATA (International Air Transport Association) CEIV Pharma certification system for the aerial transportation of pharmaceutical products, which is in the implementation phase. We believe that the airport and the BUD Cargo City will serve as a world-class, efficient, and sustainable cargo gateway to Central …

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol’s total cargo volume for 2020 declined by 8 per cent to 1.44 million tonnes compared to 2019. The airport notes that the last year’s freight volumes were shipped in three categories of flights. Full freighters accounted for 61 per cent of total volume, whilst passenger flights with belly space as well as passenger flights with only freight on board (pax-cargo-only) accounted for 29 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively. Inbound cargo volumes dropped by 4.7 per cent to 754,361 tonnes in 2020 compared to 2019, and outbound cargo volumes fell 11.7 per cent to 687,161 tonnes during the same period. The three biggest destinations for cargo tonnage were Shanghai, Doha and Chicago. “The 2020 figures are in line with our expectations given the challenging year we all had to face,” said Patricia Vitalis, incoming Director Airport Operations and Aviation Partnerships. Schiphol airport saw outbound traffic drop across regions, with Asia down 8.21 per cent to 238,889 tonnes in 2020 compared to 2019. Meanwhile, inbound cargo volume declined 0.58 per cent to 266,688 tonnes. The outbound North American market fell 8.27 per cent to 150,988 tonnes, whilst inbound was down 9.72 per cent to 101,132 tonnes. Cargo inbound to Latin America declined 10.84 per cent to 102,983 tonnes and outbound dropped 4.28 percent to 72,899 tonnes. European figures show outbound traffic fell 28.62 per cent to 85,395 tonnes and inbound increased 0.01 per cent to 106,487 tonnes. The Middle East market inbound showed a positive story as inbound was up 8.51 per cent to 101,014 tonnes, but outbound was down 9.28 percent to 96,321 tonnes. Outbound traffic to Africa was down 17.67 per cent to 42,669 tonnes …

The logistics of COVID-19 vaccine has begun at the Mumbai airport, facilitating the delivery of about 2,72,400 doses of the Covishield vaccine to 22 domestic destinations with GoAir’s first flight to Goa. This came a day after a massive pan-India inoculation drive against COVID-19 was set in process with more than 56 lakh doses of the Covishield vaccine leaving Pune for 13 cities across the country. As part of the mission, Mumbai Airport will facilitate the distribution of a total of 227 boxes containing about 2,72,400 doses of the vaccine. These shipments are being carried out by SpiceJet, IndiGo, GoAir and Vistara. These will be delivered to Goa, Bagdogra, Rajkot, Ranchi, Imphal, Agartala, Cochin, Bhopal, Kanpur, Jammu, Srinagar, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Gorakhpur, Raipur, Dehradun, Varanasi, Indore, Trivandrum and Jabalpur. The first vaccine shipment departed from the airport to Goa through GoAir carrying two boxes of the vaccine, followed by a flight to Rajkot at 6:00 am, which carried seven boxes of the vaccines and was operated by SpiceJet. The Mumbai airport has an exclusive station dealing with storage and maintenance of both e-type, and t-type active containers that help facilitate the seamless distribution of vaccines across India. The airport has placed a well-defined process for the faster turnaround of COVID-19 vaccine EXIM and transhipment movements, CSMIA said. It added that the standard operating procedures (SOPs) implemented by the airport in anticipation of the vaccine distribution saw the terminal register a cargo processing time of just seven minutes, right from goods acceptance to dispatch at ramp. Besides, the airport has deployed a dedicated COVID-19 task force in order to reduce dwell time and facilitate advanced planning and collaboration between the airport and …

SpiceJet has transported 3.5 tonnes of COVID-19 vaccines from Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad to 11 cities across the country. On January 13, 2021, SpiceJet shipped 111 boxes of Covid-19 vaccine, weighing 3.5 tonnes from Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad to 11 cities including Bagdogra, Dehradun, Srinagar, Jammu, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Jabalpur, Ranchi, Rajkot, Delhi and Bengaluru. The carrier said its freighter flight SG7555 operating from Hyderabad to Bengaluru took-off at 8.50 AM on Wednesday with a consignment of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin weighing 90 kg. From Mumbai, SpiceJet carried 74 boxes of Serum Institute of India’s (SII’s) Covishield vaccine to various cities including two to Bagdogra, 10 to Dehradun, seven to Srinagar, six to Jammu, six to Kanpur, nine to Gorakhpur, 13 to Jabalpur, 14 to Ranchi & seven to Rajkot. From Pune, SpiceJet carried 34 boxes of Covishield to Delhi on Wednesday. This follows the successful shipment of 4 million doses of Covishield by SpiceJet on January 12. The government on Monday placed firm orders in advanced commitments for over six crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines from SII and Bharat Biotech for inoculating three crore healthcare and frontline workers in the first phase of the vaccination drive scheduled to start from January 16. The cost is Rs 1,300 crore.

Qatar Airways Cargo and DHL Global Forwarding have transported 246 containers of active pharma shipments from Milan, Italy to Chicago, USA between October and December 2020. The containers were transported by temperature-controlled trucks to Indianapolis from Chicago. These pharma shipments are being moved using RAP active containers leased from both DokaSch and Envirotainer. The pharma shipments consist of insulin, an injectable prescription medicine for adults with type 2 diabetes used to improve blood sugar (glucose) and reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events in people who have heart diseases or multiple cardiovascular risk factors. Guillaume Halleux, Chief Officer Cargo said, Qatar Airways, “We are glad to support DHL Global Forwarding with this large movement of injectable prescription medicines that will benefit adults with type 2 diabetes. The logistics around pharmaceutical transportation is complex and being at the forefront of time and temperature-sensitive transportation, we understand the intricacies of a seamless cool chain. Our QR Pharma solution is designed keeping in mind the seamless transport of all kinds of pharmaceuticals and healthcare products.” Christian Giacomin, Head of Airfreight Product Capacity Management & Pricing, DHL Global Forwarding (Italy) Spa said, “This important cooperation with Qatar Airways Cargo is a further step that adds value to our comprehensive portfolio of transportation solutions for the pharmaceutical products, enforcing our long-lasting expertise in this sector.” To be able to support its customer and the end user of the product, the airline implemented an additional weekly frequency directly from Milan to Chicago, bringing the total number of B777 freighters from Milan to Chicago to three per week. The significant investments in cold chain management are part of the cargo carrier’s strategy and commitment to improving and …