Category Archives: International

With the Brexit transition period ending on January 1, Air Charter Service has started to secure exclusive capacity for its customers by contracting a UK-registered BAe 146 freighter. The aircraft is potentially the first of several options that ACS is securing in order to ensure that, in the scramble for capacity due to Brexit disruption, it can continue to offer its clients competitive solutions. As the aircraft is UK-registered, there will be no need for permits to fly into the country. Dan Morgan-Evans, Group Cargo Director, Air Charter Service, says, “Whether there is a trade deal between the UK and EU or not, it is clear that there will be disruption ahead at the UK border. According to government statistics, if even a small percentage of cargo coming through the UK’s sea ports in January requires transportation by air due to the disruption, there would be a significant requirement for airfreight – the equivalent of filling thousands of Boeing B747 freighters, in some scenarios. With the continued lack of belly capacity potentially exacerbated in January by this anticipated spike in demand, charter aircraft will have to pick up the shortfall. “The Bae 146 was identified as an ideal aircraft in many of our simulated scenarios, which included looking at the possibility of landing at smaller airports in the event of cargo congestion at major airports. However, there are a limited number available, especially on the G register. Whilst we can already source all the 146’s on the market reactively like many other brokers, we felt that exclusive use of this aircraft would give ACS customers an advantage, should the situation escalate. We have a long history of dealing with these …

According to data provider WorldACD, Air cargo’s gradual demand recovery slowed in November, but there were signs that volumes were picking up again in December. The company’s data for the month of November shows that in ‘a year like no other’ volumes declined by 12.6 per cent year on year but rates experienced their strongest increase since the months of April and May. The demand decreases lags behind performance in October, with volumes down by 2 per cent. Despite this, rates were on the up. “Yields/rates in November are usually about 4 per cent above those in October; this year the increase was 11.2 per cent, from US$2.97 per kg to US$3.30,” WorldACD said. WorldACD added that overall capacity went up by 1 per cent from October to November, with freighter capacity decreasing by 1 per cent and cargo capacity on passenger aircraft increasing by 3%. “Asia Pacific was the only origin region growing its air cargo business between October and November by 3.2 per cent,” the data provider said. “Not surprisingly, given the large orders of PPE-goods, shipments above 5,000 kgs grew year on year, whilst all smaller weight breaks lost between 16 per cent and 29 per cent year on year.” It added, “Calling the air cargo market hot, would probably be the understatement of the year. The usual trends from the pre-COVID days seem to have become just faint memories.” Looking at preliminary figures for the first half of December; worldwide volume was 2 per cent higher compared with the first half of November, showing a better month-on-month trend than the trend from October to November. “Origin regions with the highest volume increase were Africa (+21 per …

TIACA, together with Pharma.Aero released a special report for air cargo, pharmaceuticals and life sciences professionals detailing the requirements and airfreight preparedness for COVID-19 vaccines transportation. The Sunrays project report shows that 46 per cent of air cargo industry stakeholders, including airlines, freight forwarders, ground handlers, airport operators and IT solution providers, now feel well prepared for the transportation of COVID-19 vaccines, a significant increase compared to only 28 per cent feeling ready two months ago. Although the improvement is seen across the whole industry, ground handlers, who were the least prepared in September, reported the strongest jump in preparedness. “Industry has clearly stepped up its efforts to get ready for the largest logistics effort ever seen and with 79% feeling more prepared than 3 months ago, we applaud the readiness progress the air cargo community has made,” stated Nathan De Valck, Chairman of Pharma.Aero’s Board of Directors and member of the Sunrays project. “It is very encouraging to see that the majority of our industry has established working relationships with vaccine manufacturers, dedicated teams in place and collaborates with their supply chain partners to handle the logistics of COVID-19 vaccines.” The report also examines currently known requirements for COVID-19 vaccine logistics for the front runner manufacturers such as AstraZeneca and University of Oxford, Pfizer and BioNTech, Moderna, GSK and Sanofi, J&J, as well as the procurement and logistics strategies by individual countries and international bodies, like the EU and COVAX, and locations of vaccine trials and production. Areas of Priority “Although the air cargo industry has scaled up its capabilities, collaboration and readiness in the past couple of months, and COVID-19 vaccines are getting approved for wide distribution, we …

Shell Aviation has announced an agreement to supply DHL Express with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at Schiphol Airport. The deal sees DHL Express become the first customer to be supplied under Shell and Neste’s SAF supply agreement, announced in September 2020. The agreement will enable DHL Express to take regular flights using SAF, an important step forward in its ambition of reducing all logistics-related emissions to zero by 2050. The volume of SAF being supplied by Shell Aviation represents a full year of DHL Express’s fuel requirements from Schiphol Airport, helping to reduce its emissions from this European hub. The SAF will be used in blended form and is made from sustainably sourced, renewable waste and residue raw materials. In its neat form and over the lifecycle it reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% compared to fossil jet fuels. This deal demonstrates the contribution that business can play in decarbonising aviation through the cargo sector. Alongside commercial airlines, cargo operators can play an important role in driving demand signals for the increased investment in and use of SAF. This has been particularly pertinent during the Covid-19 pandemic, with commercial airlines operating at a reduced capacity and cargo operators transporting vital supplies around the world. “We’re proud to be working with DHL Express and supporting them in taking the next step in their decarbonisation journey. Today’s agreement is an excellent example of how the cargo aviation sector can help accelerate aviation’s pathway to net-zero emissions by building demand as the fuel industry seeks to increase supply of SAF,” said Anna Mascolo, President, Shell Aviation. DHL have committed to achieving zero emissions by 2050 and as a pioneer of green …

In order to address the inadequacies of capacity constraints and improve its modal share in total freight ecosystem of the country, Indian Railways has issued draft National Rail Plan. “A long-term strategic plan called the National Rail Plan has been developed to plan infrastructural capacity enhancement along with strategies to increase modal share of the Railways. The National Rail Plan will be a common platform for all future infrastructural, business and financial planning of the Railways. This plan is being circulated among various Ministries for their views now. Railways aim to finalise the final plan by January 2021,” said Ministry of Railways in an official release. The aim is to create capacity ahead of demand by 2030, which in turn would cater to growth in demand right up to 2050 and also increase the modal share of Railways from 27 per cent currently to 45 per cent in freight by 2030 as part of a national commitment to reduce carbon emission and to continue to sustain it. Net zero carbon emission by 2030. The objective of the plan is: • To assess the actual demand in freight and passenger sectors, a yearlong survey was conducted over 100 representative locations by survey teams spread all over the country. • Forecast growth of traffic in both freight and passenger year on year up to 2030 and on a decadal basis up to 2050. Formulate strategies based on both operational capacities and commercial policy initiatives to increase modal share of the Railways in freight to 45% by 2030. • Reduce transit time of freight substantially by increasing average speed of freight trains from present 22 Kmph to 50 Kmph. • Reduce overall cost …

Swiss WorldCargo has prepared for the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, for the past six months. Beginning in summer 2020, the company set up an internal task force to analyse the potential for shipping COVID-19 vaccines throughout the world. The task force, comprised of team members from different divisions, has closely analysed how Swiss WorldCargo’s aircraft, network and capacity to and from Switzerland, can best support these global shipments. Recently, the company has successfully carried out first shipments. These have proven that the company can handle complex regulatory and customer necessities, including temperature, cold-chain and timing requirements. As a leading carrier of pharmaceutical and care-intensive goods, Swiss WorldCargo has a rich history of successful and speedy delivery of pharmaceutical products, including vaccines. This long-standing expertise is based on its well-trained staff, as well as the strengths of its hub and ground handling partners. Swiss WorldCargo’s organization is CEIV Pharma-certified. Swiss WorldCargo’s hub in Zurich, operated by Cargologic, is IATA CEIV Pharma-certified and Swissmedic GDP-compliant, as recognized by the Swiss authorities. “The next few months present a significant challenge for the entire air cargo and logistics industry,” said Christian Wyss, Head of Quality & Services at Swiss WorldCargo, and leader of the Swiss WorldCargo Vaccine Transport task force. “However, based on our extensive experience carrying out complex pharmaceutical shipments, Swiss WorldCargo is well-positioned to help ship COVID-19 vaccines, to, from and through Switzerland to a variety of global destinations.” Swiss WorldCargo is continuing to closely monitor the regulatory approval process for all COVID-19 vaccines, and is ready to carry out shipments in the coming weeks and months.

In coordination with the ministry, Kuehne+Nagel has developed a comprehensive solution for storage and distribution throughout Germany’s most populous state. The Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia has contracted then logistics provider for the logistics of Covid-19 vaccines. The vaccine doses will be delivered to the state’s central distribution centre operated by Kuehne+Nagel, stored in temperature pods, repackaged in smaller quantities and distributed daily in a quality-assured manner to 53 vaccination centres and other healthcare facilities throughout North Rhine-Westphalia. Detlef Trefzger, CEO, Kuehne + Nagel International AG, says “Kuehne+Nagel has been preparing vaccine logistics solutions intensively for months. We made sure that the vaccine raw materials and auxiliary equipment such as syringes were in the right place; now we ensure that the Covid-19 vaccine is safely distributed from the factory to the end consumer, as in Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia. We are ready to support other states and countries in their Covid-19 response as well.” Karl-Josef Laumann, Minister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, says, “Vaccinating millions of people in a state as extensive as North Rhine-Westphalia is a historic task on an unprecedented scale. I am very pleased that the state has been able to secure such an experienced and competent partner for the central storage and distribution of the vaccines.ˮ Over the past months, Kuehne+Nagel has developed a comprehensive solution for the global distribution and storage of Covid-19 vaccines. The basis for this is Kuehne+Nagel’s proven, cross-transportation pharma & healthcare network with over 230 certified locations worldwide in air, sea and road logistics as well as contract logistics.

CEVA Logistics continues to expand its presence in the African market with the strengthening of its presence in two countries through two joint ventures. In Egypt, the company has taken a majority stake in IBA Freight Services, its exclusive partner for the past 20 years. In Ethiopia, CEVA Logistics has taken a minority stake in MACCFA, a long-standing freight forwarder headquartered in Addis Ababa. Both joint ventures are effective immediately and further cement CEVA Logistics’ aim of becoming a leading continent-wide player. Through the new joint ventures, both entities will be able to expand their products base which will help enhance the use of their local logistics services across the CEVA Logistics network. These new enterprises follow CEVA Logistics’ acquisition of a majority stake in AMI Worldwide in the summer of 2020 which added an additional 12 countries to the company’s African network. Furthermore, MACCFA has a long-standing working relationship with CEVA Logistics’ parent company, the CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics. Says CEVA Logistics’ Managing Director Turkey, India, Middle East and Africa, Bruno Plantaz, “Our strategic, continent-wide expansion plan continues to gather pace. These two Joint Ventures further consolidate our position in north Africa and the horn of Africa and will enable us to persevere in our intention of supporting its socio-economic emergence across all countries.”

LATAM Airlines Group has announced that it will fly COVID-19 vaccine shipments at no charge on domestic flights in Latin America. The offer is an extension of the airline’s Solidarity Plane program in which the carrier will transport vaccine, when become available, to Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The company said it will support distribution of vaccines for free, based on requests from governments. Since August, a team of more than 20 people from LATAM Cargo has been planning transport scenarios for COVID-19 vaccines, which require special temperature-control equipment and processes. LATAM Cargo has stations with pharmaceutical capabilities at 30 locations in Europe, the U.S. and Chile, and four that are waiting to be opened in China. LATAM has a certificate of excellence for meeting pharmaceutical shipping standards from the International Air Transport Association. Roberto Alvo, Group Chief Executive, LATAM Airlines, states, “During this entire global health crisis, we have not spared efforts to collaborate with the communities of the countries where we serve through our Solidarity Plane program. We are excited to announce that LATAM’s domestic operations will be available to support the distribution totally for free, of vaccines according to what the authorities of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru may determine.”

CHAMP Cargosystems, the leading air cargo systems provider, announces its partnership with CargoAi. By connecting their systems through APIs, both partners are giving their users new connections and capabilities for the future. CHAMP offers increased visibility to CargoAi for its more than 100 airlines and GSAs customers. In return, CargoAi offers CHAMP clients a new sales channel and CargoAi increases its capacity to make quotes, prices and bookings instantly available to freight forwarders. ‘Our clients and users are at the heart of this partnership. Creating value for them has always been our priority and that is why we have the widest range of suites of systems dedicated to air freight. Being available on CargoAi, if they wish, is therefore an additional service that we can offer our clients’, says Nicholas Xenocostas, VP Commercial & Customer Engagement, CHAMP Cargosystems. As he sees it, now is the time to ‘deliver innovation faster’ to support and transform customers’ business processes, while bringing more digitalisation and visibility to the air freight industry. Connecting via APIs, CHAMP and CargoAi in effect enable supply chain partners to be integrated: airlines, freight forwarders and GSAs can thus connect and exchange information very easily. ‘Our goal remains the same; to make digitisation accessible to all industry players. This partnership with CHAMP is a real boon for our customers. Because thanks to the joint work we have accomplished, our customers can grow their businesses by being connected to each other, without having to do anything,’ says CargoAi CEO Matthieu Petot. ‘CHAMP and its teams are the gold standard in our industry and working with these cargo system experts is a fantastic opportunity.’