Category Archives: Aviation

Global air cargo market demand rose over 11 percent year-on-year for a third consecutive month in March as buoyant e-commerce volumes and concerns over the impact of conflict in the Red Sea region on ocean freight services delivered an unexpected first quarter bonus for forwarders and airlines, according to the latest weekly market data from Xeneta. In what are typically weaker months of the year for the airfreight industry, these higher volumes outpaced growth in capacity supply in Q1, which increased by +8% YoY. In turn, this produced a jump in the global dynamic load factor, which is Xeneta’s measurement of cargo capacity utilization based on volume and weight of cargo flown alongside capacity available. Load factor in the opening three months of 2024 rose +2% pts YoY to 59%, and March performance has shown similar growth, edging up to 61%. “While this latest monthly data should be balanced against the lower base recorded in the corresponding month of 2023, when we saw weakened global manufacturing activities, Q1 2024 has still seen a surprisingly busy airfreight market. The level of demand in the first quarter doesn’t indicate a market which is running out of steam so far,” said Niall van de Wouw, Xeneta’s chief airfreight officer. “The question is, should we be surprised by it, or should we get used to it? Although the market didn’t benefit immediately, the Red Sea disruption was clearly a factor in these latest figures. Airfreight growth was primarily driven by increased volumes from the Middle East and South Asia as shippers shifted services from ocean to air to avoid Red Sea delays. We also cannot underestimate the importance of e-commerce growth, which shows no …

With the launch of direct flight to Bengaluru from San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York JFK and Seattle via London Heathrow and second daily flight to Mumbai, Virgin Atlantic is now offering an additional 25,000 tonnes of cargo capacity from the fashion, pharmaceuticals and tech sectors. “With five daily services, Virgin Atlantic Cargo will offer 43,000 tonnes of space available to and from India, which is a 336 percent increase in capacity versus 2019,” says an official release. Beginning October 27, 2024, the second daily Mumbai services will operate on the airline’s state-of-the-art Airbus A350-1000, the release added. Virgin Atlantic has a strategic partnership with IndiGo, India’s leading airline, and the partnership offers 36 additional destinations. “There is a huge opportunity for us in India, it has a dynamic, fast-growing economy and we’re anticipating a huge growth in demand for international travel to and from the region,” says Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer, Virgin Atlantic. “We know both our customers and people love travelling to India and we have a rich history in the destination. Next year marks 25 years of operations and the first time that we’ll offer more than one million seats to India via London Heathrow with optimal connectivity for our U.S. customers from key tech hubs including San Francisco and Seattle. The launch of Bengaluru and doubling of our Mumbai services reaffirms our strong commitment and will allow our customers to travel seamlessly throughout India and beyond, flying on one of the youngest fleets in the skies, with our signature personalised service, delivered by our amazing people.”

“Construction of new regional airports and developing dedicated cargo terminals will help increase cargo volumes and transportation, says Jaideep Mirchandani, Group chairman, Sky One. He adds, “There is need for launching more freighters on high-demand routes. Nowadays, most Indian airlines primarily use the belly cargo space in their fleet for cargo movement. “Inclusion of more wide-body aircraft and also rolling out more dedicated freighters can propel the growth of the cargo sector further. There is need to focus on exploring new routes and strengthening the existing ones through bilateral agreements with key trading partners to enhance cargo movement. A collaborative effort between various stakeholders focusing on technology adoption, infrastructure development, policy reforms, and skill development is necessary to maintain the growth momentum of the cargo sector.” “Upgrading existing road and rail linkages and developing multimodal logistics parks and a greater number of warehouses, will also result in the growth of the sector. Using technology to streamline customs clearance processes, automation to reduce paperwork, and switching to digital solutions for streamlining the whole process is also necessary,” he shares.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (HACTL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Westwell Holdings (Hong Kong) to introduce Autonomous Electric Tractors (AETs) to its ramp operations this year. HACTL aims to develop autonomous vehicles which, in addition to the relatively simple task of towing cargo dollies, automatically couple and uncouple the dollies, and adjust to their differing specifications, according to the press release from HACTL. Once testing and final on-site tuning and mapping to HACTL’s specific requirements are completed, the AETs will be integrated into HACTL’s current driver-controlled tractor fleet, and will initially tow loaded import ULDs on a 1km route between the outdoor ULD staging area, and the main terminal ULD system intake deck of SuperTerminal 1. AETs will be used on longer and more complex routes in due course. Safety is the major consideration in operating the new vehicles. Each AET is equipped with a highly accurate GNSS system and uses multiple HD cameras and LiDAR sensors to detect all objects and avoid collisions. The AETs have similar capabilities to the current diesel-powered tractor fleet, but operational speeds will be restricted to 8kph as an additional safety measure, the release added.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for February 2024 global air cargo markets showing continuing strong annual growth in demand. Total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs*), rose by 11.9% compared to February 2023 levels (12.4% for international operations). This is the third consecutive month of double-digit year-on-year demand growth. Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), increased by 13.4% compared to February 2023 (16.0% for international operations). This was largely related to the increase in international belly capacity accompanying growth in passenger markets (29.5% year-on-year increase), which far exceeded international capacity on freighters (3.2% year-on-year increase). “February’s demand growth of 11.9% far outpaced the 0.9% expansion in cross-border trade. This strong start for 2024 could see demand surpass the exceptionally high levels of early 2022. It also shows air cargo’s strong resilience in the face of continuing political and economic uncertainties,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General. Several factors in the operating environment should be noted: Global cross-border trade increased by 0.9% in January. In February, the manufacturing output Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) climbed to 51.2, indicating expansion. The new export orders PMI also rose to 49.4, remaining slightly below the 50 threshold that would indicate growth. February year-on-year inflation dropped to 2.8% in the EU while rising to 2.8% and 3.2% in Japan and the US respectively. After four months of deflation, China reported a 0.7% increase in inflation year-on-year—a positive development amid concerns over China’s economic slowdown.

Air India SATS Airport Services (AISATS) organised a roadshow for the air cargo industry stakeholders, and invited air cargo associations such as ACAAI, unveiling its plans for the cargo facility at the upcoming Noida International Airport. Mr. Seow Chai Hing Kelvin of AISATS and Nitin Mittal of NOIDA International Airport Cargo welcomed the team. A site visit to the upcoming project at Jewar was also done showcasing the development stage of various projects.

MightyFly unveiled the third generation of the Cento aircraft, an autonomous hybrid eVTOL cargo aircraft designed to carry one hundred pounds of cargo for six hundred miles. “The new eVTOL incorporates several novel features including a sleek design that enables operational efficiency, the ability to accommodate a wide range of payload centre of gravity, autonomous centre of gravity determination and a larger cargo bay,” says an official release. “The new eVTOL will also present improved operational efficiency through MightyFly’s Autonomous Load Mastering System (ALMS) component, which will enable the aircraft to autonomously open and close its cargo bay door, receive and eject packages into and from the cargo bay opening, move and secure packages in the cargo bay via an internal positioning and locking system, and sense and compute weight and balance.” MightyFly’s third generation aircraft has been designed to accommodate a relatively large range of payloads’ centre of gravity, which allows for a high degree of variance in cargo contents, densities, constitutions, loading order, and tie-down positions, the release added. “The enlarged cargo bay will allow the delivery of larger packages and goods, including the traditional cooler boxes used to transport donor organs for transplantation and blood bags. It will also benefit additional use cases and businesses in the industries of logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, pharmaceutical, retail, automotive, and oil and gas, as well as organisations performing humanitarian and disaster relief work, and government’s defence teams executing various logistics and resupply missions.”

UPS will become the primary air cargo provider for the United States Postal Service. The Atlanta shipping company said Monday that it had received an air cargo contract from the U.S. Postal Service that significantly expands an existing partnership between the two. UPS will move the majority of air cargo in the U.S. for the postal service following a transition period, according to UPS. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. USPS’s current air cargo contract with FedEx Corp. is set to expire in late September. The agency said in a statement that its contract with UPS will be for a minimum of five and a half years. FedEx said in a regulatory filing that it wasn’t able to reach an agreement on mutually beneficial terms to extend its contract with USPS. The company said that negotiations ended on Friday, after extensive talks. FedEx Express will continue to provide air transportation services domestically and to Puerto Rico until the contract expires on Sept. 29. UPS’s contract with USPS takes effect the next day. During FedEx’s third-quarter conference call on March 21, Chief Customer Officer Brie Carere said that the company had provided its services to USPS for more than two decades and that the two sides were still in negotiations.

Softlink Global along with engineering colleges of Maharashtra launched LogiTHON, a first of its kind hackathon designed to redefine the logistics sector through technology’s transformative power. In today’s economy, logistics acts as the crucial backbone supporting global commerce, while technology serves as the enabling nervous system. LogiTHON symbolises the fusion of these two vital components, aiming to propel logistics operations into a new era of efficiency and innovation with the help of AI. Commenting on Indila’s first such initiative to aware the potential and opportunities in the logistics sector, Amit Maheshwari, CEO of Softlink Global, said, “With LogiTHON, we’re not just pursuing technological breakthroughs, we’re aiming to spotlight the pivotal role logistics plays in powering our economy. It’s an initiative to foster innovation and educate the next generation of engineers about the vast opportunities available in a sector that’s constantly expanding and evolving. Through this event, we’re opening doors to new possibilities and careers in logistics, backed by the latest technological advancements.” The hackathon invites participants to tackle four critical challenges, representing current and future roadblocks faced by the logistics Industry. These challenges include Revolutionizing Warehouses with AI and Robotics where innovators will be tasked with designing intelligent warehouse management systems that integrate AI and robotics. These solutions are expected to enhance both speed and precision, keeping pace with the ever-increasing demand for rapid fulfilment services. Second challenge would be on Blockchain for Secure International Supply Chains, focused on leveraging blockchain technology. While in Optimizing Routes in Real-Time challenge contestants will develop dynamic route optimization algorithms for international trade. These algorithms should consider cost, time, and environmental impact, optimizing shipping routes in real-time. Lastly the Self-Learning AI for Data Conversion, …

“Our country’s civil aviation sector is witnessing rapid growth that will also bring different kinds of challenges, there’s a need to look more at security aspects related to air cargo and multimodal transport,” said Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla while addressing the gathering at a function to celebrate 38th Raising Day of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) in Delhi. He also emphasised the need for using cutting-edge technologies in various areas, including surveillance. “One area of concern is air cargo, there is need to especially look into the “safety and security of multi-modal transport”. While stressing that all have to put their efforts together, Bhalla said new technologies are creating more problems and the challenges are now about AI (Artificial Intelligence), deepfakes, GPS jamming and others.