ACW 20th December 21 by Azura International

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WORLD AIRPORTS .COM ACW Digital is sponsored by FREIGHTERS.COM

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The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals No. 1,161

20 DECEMBER 2021

TECH DISRUPTOR MEETS CARGOLUX

Season’s greetings from us all! THE directors and staff of AZura International wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a Successful and Happy New Year 2022!

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INSIDE

WORLD’S FIRST A320P2F

LBE Flugzeugwerke (EFW), the joint venture created by Airbus and ST Engineering, has achieved the first flight of the A320 ... PAGE 2

BRU SEES MORE CARGO GROWTH

INTRADCO Global and parent company, Chapman Freeborn, have worked together on a charter flight to transport 18 giraffes from ... PAGE 2 AIPUT ADDS LHR WAREHOUSE

abrdn’s AIPUT fund (Airport Industrial Property Unit Trust) has started construction works on its latest airport-related warehouse development ...

William, Norman, Alex, Ian, James, John, Kim, Michael, Rosa, Tim and Yasmin

PAGE 2

ACL AIRSHOP APPOINTS HARRIS

ACL Airshop has appointed James Harris as chief financial officer. Harris has an extensive background in financial leadership, M&A, capital ... PAGE 2

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NEWS

World’s first A320P2F BRUSSELS AIRPORT SEES MORE makes maiden flight CARGO GROWTH

ELBE Flugzeugwerke (EFW), the joint venture created by Airbus and ST Engineering, has achieved the first flight of the A320 Passenger-to-Freighter aircraft, the A320P2F. The flight took place at ST’s facilities in Seletar Aerospace Park in Singapore and follows the conversion to freighter configuration, which commenced there in March this year. Over the next few weeks, MSN2737, originally a passenger-carrying A320-200, will prepare for its ‘new life’ by undergoing a series of flight-tests which will culminate in the issuance to EFW by EASA of the aircraft’s Supplemental-Type-Certificate (STC). It will subsequently be leased by ST Engineering Aerospace Resources (STEAR), the aviation leasing arm of ST Engineering, to Vaayu Group. Its re-entry into service as a freighter is scheduled to commence in 2022. Vaayu revealed that it will lease five A320P2Fs from STEAR. The aircraft has a cargo capacity of 10 ULD containers and one pallet position on the main deck, as well as seven ULD containers on the lower deck. This freighter solution offers 21 tonnes of payload over 1800nm and up to 2560nm with 17 tonnes, which EFW says makes it the ideal narrowbody freighter aircraft in all established general freight and express markets. According to Airbus’ Global Market Forecast there will be a need for around 2440 widebody and single-aisle freighters for growth and replacement during the next 20 years. Of this total demand, around 1000 will be passenger-to-freighter converted single-aisle freighters such as the A320P2F and A321P2F.

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IN November, Brussels Airport reports that it welcomed more than 1.1 million passengers, 56% of the total of November 2019, before the Covid crisis. This is the fifth consecutive month that passenger totals were above a million. The airport reports that cargo continues its month-on-month growth, with a growth of the total volume in November of 20% compared to November 2020. In tonnage this equates to 69,000 tonnes. The growth in air cargo (+ 23%) is most notable in the full-freighter segment (+ 55%) and in the volume of cargo on board passenger flights (+ 41%) which is continuing to recover thanks to the growing number of passenger flights. The express services experienced a slight decline (-4%), but the volumes

remain high. In the full-freight segment, Brussels Airport is seeing growth among almost all existing customers, such as Qatar Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Sichuan Airlines. The routes from Asia and North America were the main contributors to the additional growth. Asia remains the most important region, followed by North America and Africa.

Vaccine transport The transport of COVID-19 vaccines to and from Brussels Airport continues; more than 750 million vaccines have been handled since the start of vaccine transport in November 2020, whether for import, transit or export.

As for flights, the number of movements in November decreased by 29% compared to the period prior to the crisis (November 2019). Brussels Airport registered 12,794 movements (compared to 18,063 in November 2019). The number of passenger flights fell by 38%. Each flight had an average of 116 passengers on board (compared to 129 in 2019). The number of cargo flights increased by 15% compared to November 2020; this was largely due to the increase in the number of cargo flights operated with passenger aircraft, flights that are operated during the day. These flights remain necessary to meet the large demand for air cargo capacity and are often deployed from Brussels Airport for vaccine transports.

AIPUT adds to Heathrow warehouse portfolio ABRDN’S AIPUT fund (Airport Industrial Property Unit Trust) has commenced construction works on its latest airport-related warehouse development at Blackthorne Point, located immediately to the west of Heathrow Airport on the Poyle Trading Estate. The new warehouse represents a significant vote of confidence in Poyle’s strength as an attractive investment location for industrial real estate in close proximity to Heathrow Airport. The new, 2,700 sq m GEA building will occupy a 1.2 acre plot along Blackthorne

Road in Poyle, just across from Heathrow’s Terminal 5 and close to Junction 14 of the M25. Located alongside AIPUT’s Blackthorne Point Estate, the new building will be a stand-alone facility, benefitting from its own dedicated access, parking and service yard facilities. AIPUT’s existing customers at Blackthorne Point include UPS Supply Chain, Horizon International and C. H. Robinson. The building will aim to be operationally carbon neutral and therefore is expected to achieve BREEAM Excellent accreditation and a minimum of EPC A. Solar PV panels

will be incorporated, together with electric vehicle charging points and rainwater harvesting, with recycled materials used wherever possible in the construction. Fraser Green, asset manager for abrdn, commented: “This welcome addition to AIPUT’s Heathrow portfolio marks the latest phase in our accelerated investment strategy to deliver exceptional warehouse space that is efficient, sustainable and offers great value for money. At a time of historic low vacancy levels set against a growing and more demanding occupier base, we expect to secure a pre-let.”

ACL Airshop appoints Harris as CFO ACL Airshop has appointed James Harris as chief financial officer. Harris has an extensive background in financial leadership, M&A, capital markets, and enterprise management. He began his career as a certified public accountant for over nine years with Price Waterhouse. He rose in management there, and leveraged his decade of public accounting and tax expertise to industry roles. Amongst other career successes, Harris was chief financial officer of Forum Energy Technologies which he helped grow from $25 million revenues to $1.7 billion through organic growth and more than 20 acquisitions. Forum was initially backed by private equity, and Harris was a key leader in taking it public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Steve Townes, CEO of ACL Airshop, said: “Jim Harris brings decades of sophisticated strengths in both finance and corporate leadership to our aggressively growing enterprise. He will be a key contributor to our high-performance culture and our financial disciplines. “Accelerated growth requires solid financial structure, astute analytical support, and rigorous reporting rhythms.”

ACW 20 DECEMBER 2021

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ADVERTORIAL

While the pandemic caused severe and sudden supply-chain disruptions in its initial months,the crisis has yielded opportunities and growth for the logistics industry. Southeast Asia logistics is increasingly driven by e-commerce and these opportunities have propelled Teleport’s focus in the next 5 years is to fully establish itself as a capable first to last mile company, covering 232 cities in Asia to meet these demands. Backed by airasia, Teleport is the 3rd largest cargo operator in ASEAN by capacity. Since being founded in 2018, Teleport has been on a mission to enable everyone from single merchants to the largest companies - to move goods and e-commerce anywhere in Southeast Asia and beyond. At the start of 2020, Teleport set out to build a cargo-only network across the key air cargo lanes in the region to cater for the increasing e-commerce and general cargo demand. The established logistics player has since identified that air cargo will be a critical area of resiliency for the logistics industry for the foreseeable future which was the catalyst in making it a strategic priority moving forward. “The growth of air cargo in the Southeast Asia market, along with the increase in e-commerce demand and technological developments in both new aircraft technologies and the digitisation of the industry has always been at the front of Teleport’s focus. To date, Teleport is utilizing a total of eight (8) dedicated AirAsia passenger aircraft for cargo-only flights which includes the use of passenger cabins. We have also modified an A320 AirAsia passenger aircraft with seats removed for increased capacity and introduced our dedicated Freighter into our fleet. These two planes are based out of the Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok hubs respectively.” said Adrian Loretz, Chief Operating Officer of Teleport.

The Game Changer

www.teleport.asia

TELEPORT GEARED TO CONNECT AND MEET THE DEMAND OF AIR CARGO ACROSS ASIA

“As Teleport is building its last-mile and cross-border capabilities, we expect the demand for freight capacity on key lanes to increase beyond the belly space of AirAsia, and freighters will support to build this network.” The Freighter’s fully containerised main deck and large volume capacity of 21T total max payload is also capable of carrying numerous items under the Dangerous Goods category as per IATA regulations, including Lithium batteries. From Bangkok, the aircraft is able to reach key markets including Hong Kong, Shanghai, Chennai, Mumbai and all the major destinations in Southeast Asia from Thailand, connecting long-haul markets to Southeast Asia through containerised capacity.

An Ecosystem Like No Other

For Teleport and it’s Chief Operating Officer, Adrian Loretz,their ultimate goal is to continue enhancing the company’s capabilities to compete in the fast growing, cargo and e-commerce markets across Asean. With borders reopening worldwide in varying phases, building a more robust and resilient cargo network is vital to empowering the Teleport brand and AirAsia group as a whole. “We are on the right track to contribute to the logistical accessibility and the growing demand of the region. It’s evident that we are committed to supporting businessesof all sizes, particularly with the rapid growth of e-commerce and the upcoming year-end surge. ”

While cargo will continue to represent a much larger share of airline revenue for years to come, the future success of the air cargo industry is going to depend on stakeholders’ ability, throughout the supply chain, to adapt to these changes with speed and agility, and to form strategic partnerships - both of which is core to Teleport’sstrategy going forward. As part of the greater Airasia ecosystem, Teleport gets a head start with access to a network of 86 cities across Southeast Asia. With direct access to the unrivalled Airasia Group network, best in class technology and a commitment to enabling last mile, door to door commerce anywhere in Asean within 24 hours, Teleport has put in place the right foundations to truly disrupt the cargo industry in Asean.

“The addition of a dedicated 737-800 Freighter into our fleet further amplifies our commitment to the mission. Teleport’s 737-800 Freighter was acquired through a multi-year agreement with K-Mile Asia, Thailand’s first express airline under the ASL Group. The first of six freighters and additional aircrafts will be introduced through 2022 and will be stationed in AirAsia’s hubs in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia respectively, further paving the way for Teleport’s cargo expansion and stamping its mark as a leading logistics player in the region.” The freighters demonstrate Teleport’s confidence in its growth potential and also aids in scaling their operation to meet the air cargo market’s needs for reliable connection with a solid base frequency, reliable schedule and specific departure/ arrival times in the Asean region.

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The group currently has the biggest and most frequent network in Asia, and a total of 252 aircrafts under its belt. To top off, it’s seamless booking and tracking process with SmartKargo and hubs that are fully capable of handling all types of cargo including temperature controlled shipments - it’s apparent that this logistics player is geared towards big plans for the years to come while meeting all cargo demands in the region.

More information can be found on Teleport’s website at https://www.teleport.asia

10/12/2021 10:54

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The World’s Most Trusted Online Freight Database

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Not a member? Sign up now and enjoy all the benefits of Premium Membership: • Premium Companies are the first to receive quote requests via the AZFreight Quote Request System (QRS). The QRS is a free service providing the best way for importers and exporters to find the right forwarder for shipping anything anywhere; • Premium Companies are given prime position at the top of companies listed in your country. Your company name will stand out with an eye-catching link straight to your own page together with your full-colour logo; • Choose where you get business from! Our unique algorithm will position your company in front of ALL visitors from the countries you want to target: on the Homepage, the AZ Directory page and on ALL free listing pages • Premium Companies are listed first when users search the AZ Directory. Your listing is highlighted in green and appears before all others. Premium Companies are the only ones to have their logos displayed in search results; • Premium Companies are displayed as Pop-ups in the Premium Bar. When users arrive on a listing page which matches your country and company-type they will be reminded that yours is a Premium Listing in that country; • Premium Companies are promoted in Air Cargo Week print and Digital (readership 24,000); • Premium Companies are promoted across the Azura International Social Media Platforms (18,500 followers).

NEWS

Strong consumer demand drives cargo growth at East Midlands UK aviation minister, Robert Courts MP, described East Midlands Airport (EMA) as “a key facilitator of UK trade,” during a visit as the gateway gears-up for a record-breaking festive freight operation. The minister visited EMA’s cargo operation yesterday evening, one of the airport’s busiest nights of the year in the run-up to Christmas. Over one million individual items pass through EMA each night at this time of year, ranging from household items, personal electronic devices and clothing to luxury cars, medical supplies and manufactured components. The autumn is the airport’s ‘peak season’ for cargo when a surge in demand is driven by Black Friday and into the run-up to Christmas. However, the continued consumer preference for e-Commerce, the increased cost of sea-freight and a lack of bellyhold capacity for goods on passenger planes means that East Midlands Airport’s cargo operation is in more demand than ever before. If current trends continue, by the end of the financial year, EMA is predicting that 470,000 tonnes of goods will have been handled at EMA compared with 438,000 tonnes last year, and 370,000 a year pre-pandemic.

High and growing demand Businesses are increasingly reliant on the air cargo specialists based at EMA to meet the high and still growing demand for online shopping, which has been supercharged by the pandemic, as well as to support just-in-time supply chains across the UK. Furthermore, container supply issues in Asia have made air freight more commercially attractive, especially given how much quicker goods can be moved when flown. This has proved invaluable in the response to Covid as time-critical medical supplies are speedily shipped around the world to front-line health providers. Aviation minister, Robert Courts said: “Over the past eighteen months, air freight has played a vital role in keeping the country’s medical and PPE supplies moving. “Having spent time on the East Midlands Airport airfield on one of its busiest nights, it’s clear to see why the airport’s 24-hour operation is such a key facilitator of UK trade. The importance of this regional airport is also hugely beneficial in terms of local economic growth and job creation.” Clare James, East Midlands Airport’s managing director, says: “It was a pleasure to showcase EMA to the Aviation Minister last night at a time of year when everyone on site is working flat out to facilitate the UK’s largest express air cargo operation. The last 18 months, in particular, have demonstrated just how important this airport is to keeping trade flowing in and out of the UK. At times, during the pandemic, East Midlands Airport was the tenth busiest in Europe as it remained open for business to allow the frictionless movement of goods including critical medical supplies and PPE during lockdown. EMA’s role as a global gateway for trade is central to the region’s Freeport bid, the final business case for which is submitted to Government next month.” East Midlands-based manufacturer, SureScreen Diagnostics, exports lateral flow tests through EMA to customers as far away as Australia. Having the airport on their doorstep has proved invaluable during Covid. David Campbell, SureScreen’s director, said: “During the pandemic we have had to react quickly, providing testing kits to meet the needs of our customers across the world. The services provided by EMA have been critical in allowing us to support our customers with reliable supplies across 53 countries. EMA is invaluable to companies like ours across the Midlands and the wider country.” Other drivers of air cargo growth include a lack of capacity on transatlantic passenger flights. Businesses that relied on bellyhold space on passenger planes for moving goods are likely to continue to use dedicated air cargo services until transatlantic passenger routes return to pre-pandemic levels. While at the airport, the aviation minister also spent time with EMA-based RVL Aviation which operates a specialist aircraft on behalf of the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

ACW 20 DECEMBER 2021

NEWS LATAM Cargo strategic HKIA: net zero carbon by 2050 relationship with cargo.one A

LATAM Airlines Group and its cargo subsidiaries, and cargo.one, have a new strategic relationship, making the carriers’ network available for instant booking on the cargo.one platform. This milestone is part of LATAM Cargo’s innovative digitalisation agenda, with the aim of diversifying distribution channels while offering its customers best-in-class direct booking options. This approach is proven to deliver freight forwarders more effective results than using airlines without this capability. The LATAM Cargo carriers continue to significantly upgrade their digital infrastructure and internal processes. LATAM is the first group of carriers in the region to diversify its distribution channels and also the first to partner with cargo.one. “We want to provide customers with reli-

able and efficient solutions and a broad set of options that allows them to choose what works best for them. The LATAM Cargo carriers’ network and product portfolio are great examples of that. Partnering with cargo.one is fully aligned with this goal as it gives customers access to LATAM’s cargo capacity through an innovative way,” comments Andres Bianchi, chief executive officer of LATAM Cargo. “The strategic collaboration with cargo.one enables expansion into an established, high performing digital marketplace, and to meet and exceed clients’ requirements for complete visibility and control in the booking process of their shipments. cargo.one not only delivers on the demand for customer self-service, but also offers airlines unrivalled continuous improvement with additional services such as its cargo.one360 data analysis platform.”

AIRPORT Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) has unveiled a target and strategy to achieve Net Zero Carbon by 2050 at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), with a midpoint target of 55% reduction of absolute emissions by 2035 from a 2018 baseline. Fred Lam, chief executive officer of AAHK, said: “Sustainability is at the centre of our long-term development vision. HKIA’s Net Zero Carbon target not only aligns with the Government’s 2050 carbon neutrality target, but also makes us a leading airport in carbon management. Working closely with business partners, we are confident in achieving our carbon reduction targets in tandem with the future capacity and traffic growth at HKIA.” Measures that have already been taken forward to reduce direct emissions include electrification of airside vehicles, a ground services equipment pooling scheme, piloting of renewable diesel, and more.

Energy efficiency initiatives AAHK has also been implementing energy efficiency initiatives that bring down indirect emissions, including installation of LED lighting and energy efficient chillers, as well as development of innovative energy management solutions such as a battery energy storage system, among others. AAHK works closely with the airport community under an airport-wide approach to set and achieve the new carbon reduction targets. AAHK and the key aviation-related business partners, accounting for about 90% of the car-

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ACW 20 DECEMBER 2021

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bon footprint at HKIA, have jointly committed to achieving the targets. To support business partners in achieving the Net Zero Carbon target, AAHK is launching a Business Partner Carbon Support Programme that comprises a HK$20 million Green Innovation and Technology Fund to support piloting of new technologies; a capacity building programme in partnership with the Business Environment Council to build essential skills and knowledge in carbon management across the airport community; and Technology Working Groups to enhance collaboration between AAHK and business partners. AAHK also supports the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with relevant fuelling infrastructure already installed at HKIA that enables airlines to receive, store and uptake pre-blended SAF at HKIA. AAHK will also work with industry partners to promote the awareness and knowledge for the importance of scaling up SAF usage in the region. Peter Lee, general manager, sustainability of AAHK, said: “Innovation, capacity building and collaboration hold the key to achieving the Net Zero Carbon target. Our Business Partner Carbon Support Programme is tailored to address the needs in all these aspects. We are pleased to see the positive response from our business partners in support of decarbonisation. With the collaborative effort of the airport community, we are fully committed to achieving this Net Zero Carbon target in pursuit of our pledge to make HKIA the world’s greenest airport.”

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New technology: Cargolux selects IBS Software’s iCargo

Ashok Rajan, senior vice president and head, cargo and logistics solutions, IBS Software Richard Forson, CEO of Cargolux IBS Software has signed a strategic long-term deal with Cargolux, Europe’s number one all-cargo airline, for the replacement of its cargo management system. Cargolux will deploy IBS Software’s iCargo SaaS solution to transform and manage its global air cargo business. The iCargo implementation will enable Cargolux to further deliver and improve services and streamline customer experience. iCargo’s air cargo ecosystem will allow the airline to real-

ise improved efficiencies through lean business processes. With APIs providing enhanced rich data sharing, Cargolux will facilitate improved co-ordination with partners and deliver a superior experience to customers. “Cargolux is in the midst of a digital transformation and the implementation of iCargo as our next generation cargo management system is another important step for us,” said Richard Forson, CEO of Cargolux. “Cargolux is a pioneer in the global air cargo industry and

commands great respect from peers and technologists like us at IBS Software, who are deeply embedded in the global air cargo industry. We are thrilled to be associated with a global leader like Cargolux. “The air cargo industry is innovating at pace with digitalisation at the core. Technology is driving change and raising the strategic profile of cargo, and we’re proud to be at the forefront of such a significant shift,” said Ashok Rajan, senior vice president and head, cargo and logistics solutions, IBS Software.

ACW 20 DECEMBER 2021

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2021 - A YEAR I

Capacity constraints are slowly resolving

IN 2021, air cargo bounced back from the hit it took in 2020 as companies got to grips with the challenges of navigating air transport in a pandemic. Issues in the industry, like missing pax capacity and general containership industry chaos, have resulted in high demand for air cargo capacity. Thomas Crabtree, regional director, Boeing Commercial Airplanes market analysis — air cargo, notes this trend is expected to continue for the next two years, at least. October’s cargo data, released at the beginning of December by IATA, shows that that demand continued to be well above pre-crisis levels and that the capacity constraints have eased slightly. “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,” says Willie Walsh, IATA’S director general. Crabtree comments on IATA’s data: “The important thing is that we’re in a massive recovery in the air cargo sector. Air cargo in 2021 performed better than 2018, which was an very strong year. What is funny about this is that capacity is still down about 12% because there’s still quite a bit of missing passenger belly hold capacity. Traffic, however, is up 9% relative to 2019 and revenue is up a whopping 82%. It’s interesting that the load factors are also up 11% in relation to 2019.” The year’s data (January-September) also showed cargo traffic growth across all segments: express; all cargo carrier; passenger belly only; and combination carriers. As the principal operators of the world’s freighter fleet, it is unsurprising that the express carriers are in positive territory with a 10% increase year-on-year. “What is interesting is that the combination carriers and the passenger belly carriers with no freighter augmentation have also recovered for the first nine months of this year,” says Crabtree. “A lot of that is due to the effects of the disruption in the container ship sector.”

Freighter operations The data also shows freighter operators beating 2019 traffic

levels through September of 2021. Crabtree says: “If we redraw the comparison of the first nine months of this year to the first nine months of two years ago, the express and all-cargo carriers are unsurprisingly in the driving seat. Comparing to 2019, express carrier traffic is up 26% and all cargo carriers are up 28%. Combination carrier traffic is up 2% and belly hold is down -33%. “An overarching trend of this year, and indeed the whole pandemic, is the explosion of e-Commerce. Express carriers, like DHL, FedEx and UPS have all said they saw an acceleration in e-Commerce trends that they were not planning for until 2023-2025. “The main theme of Boeing’s world air cargo forecast is that the take out of belly capacity last year made freighters very near and dear. Freighters are flying more full and more frequently and are flying at higher utilisation levels than ever before. “For example, Etihad are getting 16.5 hours a day out of their 777 freighters.”

Passenger recovery It is clear that passenger markets are recovering despite governments imposing complicated restrictions for travel. IATA predicts that there won’t be a full recovery in international passenger belly markets until roughly two years from now. Will carriers lean back on their unused pax aircraft going forward to tackle capacity constraints? Crabtree noted: “Largely

the consensus in the industry is that those operations will fade as capacity returns to the international market in two years or so. It will be a gradual change we see over time. The idea is that as capacity is restored, yields will fall back to where they were pre-pandemic, meaning such operations become economically much more difficult to sustain. “Actually, people think that passenger belly capacity is much cheaper than freighter capacity but if it is not properly cost allocated, it is not,” Crabtree explains.

Containership chaos A factor that has had a huge impact on air cargo demand this year has been the chaos in the containership industry. Crabtree says: “What’s interesting is the containership industry is not buying a lot of new boats to keep up with high demand. The demand for merchandise trade during the pandemic was relatively unscathed but the containership industry has suffered from box shortages. “If there is one thing shippers are really desperate for right now, its reliability and they are simple not getting it,” adds Crabtree. “While air cargo levels have roughly doubled over the last five years in terms of yield or rates per kilo, the containership sector over the past 18 months has risen nearly sevenfold. “Shippers want reliability and air cargo can provide that,” he concludes.

From where we stand: Skyport Ground Handling David Adámek, CEO, Skyport. “THE cargo market in 2021 was surprisingly steady for us as we observed a positive trend in the growth of cargo volumes, especially on the road feeder services (RFS) side, where trucking of cargo has replaced the ‘lost’ capacity of the cancelled short haul flights. “Many airlines have been able to adapt surprisingly fast to the actual market situation and high demand for cargo volumes by con-

ACW 20 DECEMBER 2021

verting passenger aircraft to cargo aircraft, as online shopping boosted demand for air cargo capacity and fast international delivery. We believe that the high proportion of e-Commerce shipments compared to general cargo or other types of cargo will continue to grow further.

No conclusion “At this stage of the pandemic, we can-

not make any conclusion as to whether the changes in customer behaviour and cargo operations will be temporary or long term. “Within the first weeks of the pandemic, we were able to put in place and into practice contingency plans in scope with all government regulations and health risk prevention plans without any major difficulties. “Overall, Skyport already has a very flexible approach to the demands of its clients, so adaptation to the new reality imposed by the

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world pandemic was not a difficult process as opposed to how it may have been for other institutions or organisations with a very rigid structure or process workflow. “In 2022, we are looking forward to steady growth in air cargo volumes. Skyport is working tirelessly and in close co-operation with all carriers, GSAs and freight forwarders that are within our client portfolio in order to offer their business plans and operations all the support they might need.”

R IN AIRFREIGHT

60 seconds with… Anne Marie van Hemert Anne Marie van Hemert, Amsterdam Schiphol reflects on the year in air cargo. ACW: How would you summarise the air cargo market of 2021? Van Hemert: Booming with challenges. 2021 has seen an absolute surge in demand for goods around the world, thanks to economies re-opening and slowly starting to recover during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, since capacity is not limitless, the availability of freighter volume now slowly becomes a bottleneck. Overall, we’re very happy about the results of cargo until the third quarter of 2021. Traditionally, the end of the year is strong at Schiphol. We hope to equal our best year ever (2017) in terms of volume.

Van Hemert: Airport management is planning for contingencies. Looking back, we certainly did not anticipate the severity of the impact, but we did manage to find a way to work with the givens of this pandemic and found a way to go forward. And naturally, dangers to public health and coping with infectious diseases will result in a whole new field of contingency planning in aviation. Schiphol will make sure that it gets the attention it needs.

ACW: What’s your market confidence like for 2022? Van Hemert: Recovery for passenger flights is setting in slower than anticipated, which on the one hand limits belly cargo capacity, but on the other hand, cargo can lead to the continuation of passenger airlines and bolster their business. For cargo, that will result in strong figures for 2022 and possibly 2023.

ACW: What do you see as the most prominent market trends of the year? Van Hemert: E-Commerce continues its domination as the segment with the largest growth. Although, the worldwide demand for goods also shows that goods that would usually come by ship are now in such high demand that shipping by air becomes attractive. We are interested to see if that trend continues. For Amsterdam Airport Schiphol flowers still represent a substantial product, and high yield and attention dominate in pharmaceuticals transport due to COVID. Also, due to capacity shortage, it’s not the forwarders that are in charge of the high yield destinations, but the airlines seemed to dominate in this reversed order last year. We expect the balance to return after COVID and for the sea freight to return to ‘normal’ capacity. Another trend we saw at AMS is that it was possible for over 30 airlines to do fewer than ten ad hoc flights at AMS. But there are also new airlines that have joined the Amsterdam route consequently, such as Vietnam Airlines. Particularly special was the start of Geodis’ (as a forwarder) own branded flight at AMS. ACW: Do you think there will be any lasting impacts from the pandemic? Van Hemert: We think the pandemic has re-established the importance of air cargo and will continue to do so. Airlines are now very aware of the importance of their cargo network. It makes or breaks the break-even targets for many destinations. ACW: Has the pandemic encouraged you to put in place any contingencies for a similar event in the future?

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