Category Archives: International

DRONAMICS, the unmanned aircraft developer and operator and SOF connect, the operator of Sofia Airport has signed a Memorandum of Understanding on collaborating on innovation initiatives at the airport. SOF Connect’s CEO Jesus Caballero and COO Henning Pfisterer signed the agreement with Svilen Rangelov CEO and co-founder and Konstantin Rangelov, CTO and co-founder of DRONAMICS. The two companies will collaborate on the upcoming global unveiling of the first unit of the full-scale Black Swan unmanned drone. The event is planned to take place on the airfield of Sofia Airport where the DRONAMICS team will present to the world the first manufactured unit in Bulgaria and plans to expand globally. The Memorandum also envisages collaboration on flight demonstrations, and trials of the logistics service for same-day shipping with the “Black Swan” from Sofia airport as well as to explore further possibilities in expanding DRONAMICS’ current manufacturing and testing facilities with airside access at the airport.

ROM Cargo has appointed Air One Aviation as its Global Sales & Services partner (GSSA). The appointment follows the awarding of the airline’s Air Operators’ Certificate by Romania’s civil aviation authority to begin international Boeing 747-400 freighter services. Air One Aviation expects ROM Cargo’s 747F fleet capable of carrying a payload of up to 112 tonnes – to meet immediate demand for Asia-Europe cargo capacity. Paul Bennett, founder and chief executive of Air One Aviation, said: “We are delighted to welcome another Boeing 747 freighter operator into our fleet portfolio. With the support we are generating from our freight forwarding, logistics and charter broker customers for 747 all-cargo capacity, we are confident of quickly establishing ROM Cargo in the international market and developing a platform for the next stage of the airline’s expansion.”

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released October 2021 data for global air cargo markets showing that demand continued to be well above pre-crisis levels and that the capacity constraints have eased slightly. “October data reflected an overall positive outlook for air cargo. Supply chain congestion continued to push manufacturers towards the speed of air cargo. Demand was up 9.4% in October compared to pre-crisis levels. And capacity constraints were slowly resolving as more passenger travel meant more belly capacity for air cargo. The impact of government reactions to the Omicron variant is a concern. If it dampens travel demand, capacity issues will become more acute. After almost two years of COVID-19, governments have the experience and tools to make better data-driven decisions than the mostly knee-jerk reactions to restrict travel that we have seen to date. Restrictions will not stop the spread of Omicron. Along with urgently reversing these policy mistakes, the focus of governments should be squarely on ensuring the integrity of supply chains and increasing the distribution of vaccines,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

While the congestion at several airports, notably Amsterdam and Chicago O’Hare, has eased, handlers claim one of the biggest issues is lack of freight movements between Friday and Monday. “We are experiencing cargo not being picked up by forwarders – that’s a sweeping statement, but in general, dwell times are increasing,” said Robert Fordree, head of cargo for Menzies. “Forwarders are struggling to get drivers, and their warehouses are full too. We have looked at increasing storage charges, but it’s really a logjam everywhere, and wouldn’t change anything.” Another handler said it had set up its own operations to deliver freight direct to forwarders, but added: “But then, there is no space at their end. Forwarders are congested too. We doubled our storage charges, and then did it again, but still no one picked up the freight. It’s caused congestion in our warehouses and it’s been chaos.” Forwarders can also expect to see a rise in terminal handling charges (THCs) next year.

Cargo owners at India’s hinterland points of Chennai and Kolkata are rerouting more shipments to JNPT (Nhava Sheva) or Mundra instead of feedering to hub or intermediate ports in South Asia for mainline, long-haul connectivity. These are usually Colombo (Sri Lanka), Singapore and Port Klang (Malaysia) . Jayesh Tanna, VP of FCL-air freight for India & Dubai at Mumbai-based multimodal solutions provider Allcargo Logistics, said there had been a change in the market, albeit transient, where more shippers tended to shift cargo away from Colombo, or other hubs caught up in lingering congestion and sailing reliability issues. “Shipments are slowly moving in and out from Kolkata to Nhava Sheva. This trend will likely continue, at least, for the next three to four months, as the space is not fully open.” said Tanna

DB Schenker announced the extension of its partnership with Atlas Air for charter flights on the transpacific route. The flights which are part of the forwarder’s global flight network, which was launched in 2020, will receive dedicated capacity on multiple flights each week by Atlas. “We are excited to extend our current partnership with Atlas Air on our transpacific charter operations. The timely and reliable operation of Atlas Air fits perfectly into our commitment to provide our customers a reliable service for air transportation in their supply chain.” said Björn Eckbauer, senior vice president, global operations and procurement airfreight, DB Schenker. When the forwarder launched its “global flight operations program” in 2020, the service-connected Beijing, Shanghai, Zhengzhou, and Hong Kong to Chicago and Frankfurt ten times a week with exclusive full charter flights.

The Inland Container Depot (ICD) Birgunj, Nepal and Indian ports Kolkata and Visakhapatnam aims to offer greater flexibility and reliability for regional shippers with thw new link. Sudhir Sudhakaran, Inland Steering Manager Area India, said, “By expanding its presence in the hinterland bordering eastern India, the firm is able to capitalise on the booming import-heavy niche market.” The rail connection is a regular service, offering greater reliability for planning than previous road arrangements. Customers additionally will be able to receive a Through B/L and can directly take delivery of cargo in Nepal. “The partner we have chosen in Nepal is the ICD operator and now runs a private railroad, which ensures us access to infrastructure and strengthens our ability to deliver quality to our customers,” the company added. Customers can book their cargo up to ICD Birgunj with the choice of Kolkata and Visakhapatnam as gateway ports.

With the exponential rise in e-commerce activity, GEODIS is offering brands a new level of end-to-end logistics support ‘GEODIS e-Logistics’ to help them offer their customers the same buying experience online as they do in-store. For this, GEODIS relies on its network of e-commerce warehouses and transportation service at locations worldwide, and on its new digital platform for the processing of orders in real time. “The current crisis has benefited e-Commerce, a fundamental sales channel that is experiencing profound accelerated growth, from France to China via the United States. Responding to this new consumer demand requires brands to be able to orchestrate both orders and inventories, while overcoming major logistical obstacles. This is why ‘GEODIS e-Logistics’ has been developed. This new offering, based on the power of digital technology, is aimed at strengthening brand autonomy”, explains Marie-Christine Lombard, chief executive officer of GEODIS.

After the conclusion of the COP 26 conference in Glasgow, DB Schenker and Volta Trucks, a leading and disruptive full-electric commercial vehicle manufacturer and services provider, have confirmed an intensive partnership and pre-order of nearly 1,500 full-electric Volta Zero vehicles – the most significant order for large zero-emission trucks in Europe to date. Cyrille Bonjean, Executive VP, Land Transport at DB Schenker, Europe, said, “We have many challenges to overcome on the road to carbon neutrality. The large-scale partnership with Volta Trucks allows us to significantly increase the pace of electrification of our fleet and invest in greener transport solutions, brings us closer again to our goal of carbon neutral logistics.” Essa Al-Saleh, CEO, Volta Trucks, confirmed the agreement with DB Schenker, “I am delighted to welcome DB Schenker as a Volta Trucks customer. Working with DB Schenker on Europe’s largest full-electric truck order demonstrates the confidence that major freight distributors have in our ability to deliver a world-class zero-emission vehicle on time and to the highest possible quality.”

Brussels Airport launched Stargate project, receiving a grant within the European Green deal. In the next five years, Brussels Airport will be working with a consortium of 21 partners on some 30 concrete projects to make aviation and airports greener and more sustainable. Stargate includes building a biofuel blending installation at the airport, electric ground handling material and testing a new innovation that will make engine test runs much quieter. At the end of 2020, following a call of the European Commission, Brussels Airport took the initiative to submit an ambitious programme (“Stargate”) together with 21 partners, including three European airports, airlines, mobility and knowledge institutes and local authorities, to develop innovations and initiatives for an accelerated transition to greener aviation. Brussels Airport’s Stargate project was selected and has received a 24.8 million euros grant within the European Green Deal to implement these projects in the coming years.