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WORLD AIRPORTS .COM ACW Digital is sponsored by FREIGHTERS.COM
FREIGH
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The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals No. 1,174
04 APRIL 2022
Two minutes with Glyn Hughes ... STC FOR A320 PASSENGER TO FREIGHTER PROTOTYPE
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INSIDE
ECS OFFERS MAIL OPTION ...
ECS GROUP reports it is the first GSA worldwide to offer a comprehensive and dedicated mail and e-commerce service solution. Its Mail & More module ... PAGE 2
COMETH THE HOUR ...
IT was the Covid pandemic that put Bournemouth Airport on the global cargo map. Until a couple of years ago, it was a small regional gateway ... PAGE 4
IAG CARGO RESTARTS SYDNEY ...
INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES GROUP (IAG) Cargo has restarted its London Heathrow to Sydney route for the first time since early 2020 ... PAGE 6
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he first ever Airbus A320 passenger to freighter prototype has been awarded a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) by aviation safety regulator the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), centre of excellence for Airbus freighter conversions, received the STC for its very first A320 Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) aircraft. This prototype unit is the first A320P2F aircraft to be developed in the world, joining a family of Airbus P2F programmes that include the A330-200P2F, A330300P2F and A321P2F. The A320P2F is able to accommodate 10 container and one pallet position in the main deck, and seven container positions in the lower deck. Given its gross
payload of up to 21 tonnes at a maximum range of 1,850nm and total usable containerised volume of 159m3 (5,603ft3), the freighter aircraft has 85% stowage efficiency. The A320P2F is the second variant in Airbus narrowbody P2F solutions. Similar to the A321P2F variant, the A320P2F is a collaboration between EFW and its parent companies, ST Engineering and Airbus, with EFW leading the overall programme as well as marketing and sales efforts. The prototype A320P2F aircraft is owned by the aviation leasing arm of ST Engineering. It will be the first of several converted freighter aircraft on lease to Vaayu Group, an aviation solutions and services group of companies. (continues on page 12)
LIEGE AIRPORT LEVELS UP ...
Located in the middle of Europe’s golden freight triangle, Liege Airport has benefited from high cargo demand ... PAGE 13
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Challenge Group joins TIACA ECS provides Mail and More solution AIRFREIGHT HANDLER CHALLENGE GROUP has joined The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) having earlier joined the grouping as a non-voting member in Octo-
tensive road feeder services, and can offer other aviation expertise, too, so I believe that, as a group, we can bring valuable input to the broad TIACA community: a motivated
ber 2021. “We are keen to contribute proactively and tangibly to the future of our industry,” says Yossi Shoukroun, CEO of Challenge Group. He continues: “Challenge Group has more than four decades of air cargo airline experience, we’ve been involved in air cargo handling for almost 25 years, we provide ex-
community that has a clear direction for the future of our industry. “There is strength in numbers, and it is this strength that will drive change. Together with other supply chain stakeholders, we can make significant progress on the many changes that are necessary for a cleaner, more efficient, and collaborative air cargo industry.”
ECS GROUP reports it is the first GSA worldwide to offer a comprehensive and dedicated mail and e-commerce service solution. Its Mail & More module is often New Abilities available for individual purchase.
commercial responsibilities all the way through to digital support,” Jonathan Fredericks, Mail & More managing director, explains. “To date, we have implemented a flexible EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) Mail solution for three
Airmail is not a standard air cargo service, and ECS Group says it requires specialised knowledge. “In the first quarter of this year, we have already completed ten charter flights carrying, in total, more than 130 tonnes of mail and e-commerce. And there is more to come,” says Adrien Thominet, ECS Group executive chairman. “We understand that airlines often find dealing with mail shipments and customers difficult because of the difference in processes, and not all of them can allocate a separate team to the task. That is why, with Mail & More, we provide fully outsourceable, commodity-specific assistance ranging from
airlines which enables the tracking and tracing of CN documents, and the conversion of CN documents to Postal Air Waybills (PAWBs) when necessary. Our holistic service offer and long-standing experience in airmail is what sets us apart in the market. We always want to make things simple for our customers.” ECS Group says it is the first GSA worldwide to provide a comprehensive mail solution with inhouse digital process support to carry mail as cargo or under CN documents. Mail & More offers collection and delivery under CN, ensures full mail-specific EDI compliance and comes with a track and trace system.
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Cometh the hour, cometh the carrier IT was the Covid pandemic that put Bournemouth Airport on the global cargo map. Until a couple of years ago, it was a small regional gateway serving a handful of scheduled passenger flights, general aviation and not really much else. Bournemouth is best known as a seaside resort. The airport itself is nestled in the New Forest, one of England’s renowned natural areas; almost bucolic by the airport standards, but not really the sort of place that you’d normally associate with the global air cargo industry. Suddenly, all that changed in March 2020 with Covid. Intercontinental passenger schedules were slashed which meant that overnight bellyhold cargo could no longer fly. At the same time, the UK needed to import vast quantities of medical PPE and other kit from the Far East to cope with the pandemic. Alternative air cargo gateways were needed – and fast. Bournemouth may not have handled many flights, but it was home to a long established firm, European Aviation, founded in 1989 by chairman and chief executive, Paul Stoddart. The company had started out in aircraft maintenance and then branched out into passenger operation. But with the pandemic, the company swiftly moved into freighters to cope with the urgent need for medical material. The response exemplified Bournemouth’s ‘can do’ attitude, says Paul Stoddart: “In January 2021 we brought our first A340 here, still with 350 seats in it. But it made our first freighter flight in under five weeks.” Now, the company’s European Cargo arm has six A340 converted freighters based at Bournemouth, and plans to add another in April, another in June and thenceforth expand its fleet at the rate of one converted aircraft every quarter until reaching a final total of 17 A340s. European Cargo has moved 1.4 billion pieces of PPE for the UK’s National Health Service. Paul Stoddart proudly points out: “We have had a 100% record – literally – in handling NHS consignments; not a single piece went missing.” NHS material for the London area can be got to destination faster
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via Bournemouth than it can via major hubs like Heathrow, he says. European Aviation’s aerospace background stood it in good stead. It has done the freighter conversion work itself, and it can also carry everything bar the very heaviest maintenance checks itself at Bournemouth. It has a massive stock of aircraft spares, enough to keep the A340F fleet flying for the next 15 years. The initial A340 conversions were, of necessity, rapid affairs, with galleys and other areas left in place. As time goes on, these will be removed, boosting aircraft capacity from 350 to 450-475cu m, says Stoddart. European Cargo uses rolling ‘pods’ on the upper deck of its A340s, similar in concept to the roll cages used in supermarkets. It can carry 46 of these, together with 14 pallets and ULD containers on the lower deck. The system allows a complete aircraft to be unloaded within two hours – and this has been achieved without cutting a large cargo door into the converted aircraft. Most cargo airlines and operators tend to have, at best, a wary attitude to their airport operators but Stoddart is enthusiastic about the speed with which Bournemouth was able to respond to the fast developing situation. He says: “The airport’s location is perfect, especially now that the A338 road has been improved. It proves that sometimes small – or smallish – can be better.” European Cargo was able to swiftly recruit an enthusiastic team of people, boosting its staff strength from 140 to 406 at a time
when the rest of the aviation industry was shedding people in droves. The rush to move Covid-related material into the UK is now, thankfully, drawing to a close but there is plenty of other business to go for, Stoddart continues. When a US soft drinks firm needed to move material urgently from Ireland to the US and couldn’t find capacity in Dublin, Bournemouth was able to respond immediately and provide an alternative, with the cargo being trucked over the Irish Sea to Bournemouth. “We were able to get that flight out within four days,” says Stoddart. At other airports, it could take that long to even get the flight in the schedule. Being able to build its own pallets itself in Bournemouth is also a big time-saver, he adds. European Cargo is developing new business, much of it e-commerce related. It has a regular contract with a parcels integrator to fly from Bournemouth to New York JFK. It is also operating flights three times a week from Chengdu to JFK and it also flies three times a week from China to Los Angeles. The A340 is an ideal aircraft in terms of payload for European Cargo’s operation and will sustain the operation for around a decade, Stoddart believes. It’s bigger than an A350 or B787 and not much smaller than the much more fuel hungry 747F. At that point, European Cargo may look to other types such as the 777F, says Stoddart but that is quite a few years into the future.
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IAG Cargo restarts flights to Australia
INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES GROUP (IAG) Cargo has restarted its London Heathrow to Sydney route for the first time since early 2020, as Australia re-opens its borders to vaccinated passengers. A daily service will operate via Singapore with a B787-9 (789) wide body aircraft with the capacity for up to 13 tonnes of cargo, on ten compatible pallets. IAG says it has already taken bookings for a wide variety of goods on the route since they opened on March 15. Items typically exported from the region include vegetables and fresh fruits such as melons and mangos, along with imports of electronics, luxury goods and cosmetics.
Rob Wiemerink, regional commercial manager for Asia Pacific and Middle East at IAG Cargo, said: “We are delighted to see Australia reopen its borders to travellers and in doing so, the re-establishment of an important trade link between Australia, the UK and the rest of the world. It’s fantastic to once again serve customers in this market. The return of these flights will be especially welcomed by exporters and importers in the region.” The UK and Australian government signed a new trade deal in December 2021, which removes tariffs on UK exports and aims to unlock billions of pounds of additional trade.
Airforwarders Association calls for shipping and China tariff reform
THE Airforwarders Association (AfA) has signed two stakeholder letters, in favour of the proposed new Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 and to support the Americans for Free Trade coalition’s bid to address unfair tariffs from China. The Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 seeks to address longstanding port disruption, made worse by the pandemic and costing forwarders punitive demurrage penalty fees. The Americans for Free Trade (AFT) letter supports congressional action that aims to help US businesses and workers compete globally, including with Chinese businesses. AfA executive director, Brandon Fried explained: “The pandemic taught us that global supply chains are not only interconnected, but require collaborative efforts between forwarders, airlines, ocean carriers, truckers, and
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railroads.” “As the Ukraine crisis accelerates, there is a significant need for increased logistical cooperation by all participants to make sure that essential medical supplies, food, and other vital materials reach those who need them most. “Without a collaborative approach, the efficient distribution of these products would not be possible.” AfA is also backing the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 as many of its members are full-service freight forwarders offering a variety of transportation options, including ocean. “Throughout the pandemic, our members have had to conduct frank conversations with their clients, and have been often forced to pass along exceedingly high detention and demurrage fees incurred as a result of inefficient maritime port operations,” said Fried. He said the proposed legislation should reduce fees to freight forwarders, cargo owners and truck vendors, adding: “Our hope is that this legislation will force ocean carriers and marine terminals to provide more efficient handling of cargo while reducing the detention and demurrage costs often unfairly assessed, even when the cargo is not made available by those entities.” AfA is calling for an end to additional tariffs on US companies as well as China’s retaliatory tariffs by supporting the Section 301 Product Exclusions Process, part of US trade legislation.
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Kerry Pharma supports Covid-hit Hong Kong with home deliveries KERRY LOGISTICS Network has launched a customised home delivery service for patient medication in Hong Kong.
rector of integrated logistics, Samuel Lau, said: “As the fifth wave of COVID-19 outbreak in Hong Kong peaks, many chronic patients are confined to their
The Medication Home Delivery initiative aims to help institutions and organisations provide remote support for patients and set new standards in home deliveries. The service is tailor-made for patients in vulnerable social groups who are unable to leave their homes to consult doctors or pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic. The entire delivery can be closely monitored through a digital tracking system to provide accurate and speedy same-day deliveries. Patients can also access latest status updates and courier information on the website and mobile app. Kerry Logistics Network’s deputy managing di-
homes and cannot access pharmacies and hospitals. To ease their burden during such a stressful time, we have the responsibility to harness our resources in pharmaceutical logistics and lend them a hand.” Each courier for the Medication Home Delivery service is required to take daily rapid antigen tests before delivery, while all vehicles and delivery-related tools are regularly sanitised. It also offers a tailored mechanism to obtain patient consent, secure medication packaging and labelling, individual delivery containers, notification of individual courier’s name and telephone number, and a passcode-protected handover process.
Kale and WFS cut JFK truck queues Truck waiting times have been reduced at JFK Airport handler Worldwide Flight Services following the pilot of a new IT solution from Kale Info Solutions, part of Kale Logistics. Artificial Intelligence has reduced truck waiting times by 66% for exports and 48% for imports. The solution will now be rolled out all WFS facilities in North America. WFS vice president Rinzing Wangyal said: “We have created a digital infrastructure with an integrated system and the results of the pilot are very encouraging.” Around 50 organisations and more than 160 individual users, including truckers and ground handling operatives, were enrolled onto the pilot, which began in December 2021. Kale Logistics Solutions CEO Amar More said: “Truck congestion is becoming a major challenge in North American airports and ports, and JFK requires a smart system to handle cargo movement seamlessly. “We have helped several airport and port communities across the world in overcoming such challenges and are excited to work with WFS and the JFK cargo community in chang-
ing the way cargo is picked up and delivered in New York forever through this initiative.” The pilot included integration of Kale’s ACS truck and slot management module with WFS’ warehouse management system, ePic, to create a digital transformation of export and import processes. The system addresses the causes of congestion such as bunching of truck traffic, lack of information for operational planning to handlers, paperwork at the airport, and visibility of airport operations. Wangyal added: “At WFS at we are looking at digital transformation of our processes that can enable us to handle cargo more efficiently and address the root causes of congestion. Kale helped set up the first air cargo community system in the US at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in 2020 and has since continued to drive ACS adoption and stakeholder collaboration at airports in the region and across the globe. CEO Amar More spoke last month on the ‘Shaping the Future panel’ at the TIACA Executive Summit in San Francisco.
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Jettainer manages ULDs for T’way Air LUFTHANSA CARGO subsidiary Jettainer has begun a five-year contract to manage ULD services for South-Korean low cost carrier T’way Air. Jettainer will provide the airline with a customised ULD fleet and manage the maintenance and repair of all units as the airline expands its fleet from B737-800s to include three leased A330-300s by May. ULDs provided and managed by Jettainer will initially fly on T’way routes between South Korea’s Gimpo International Airport and Jeju International Airport with international flights to Singapore and Vietnam set to follow. By 2025, T’way plans to add seven A330-300s to its fleet and begin medium-haul and long-haul flights to destinations including Sydney, Croatia and Honolulu. The ULD management contract includes providing containers and pallets for the
three new A330s as well as services for future expansion. T’way Air chief cargo external affairs director Sung-sup Park said: “As we grow our fleet now and in the future, we are deliberately embracing sustainable and cost-efficient ULD solutions, so this partnership is an excellent fit with our constant efforts to increase innovation, cut costs, and enhance efficiency.” Jettainer chief sales officer Thorsten Riekert added: “We are putting our ULD management services in the best hands by opting for Jettainer’s many years of experience and professional services. We are active all over the globe and recognise that the Asian market offers significant potential to us, as aviation will continue to grow there in the years ahead. Outsourcing ULD services is an especially attractive alternative for expanding airlines like T´way Air as efficient management cuts costs and reduces CO2 emissions.”
Never run out of AWBs again
A joint innovation between Lufthansa Cargo and online platform cargo.one aims to make booking airfreight easier by avoiding the need for forwarders to hold stocks of paper air waybills (AWBs). For decades, air cargo bookings have relied upon the manual allocation of an AWB. If a freight forwarder runs out of AWBs, the time needed to request these from an airline will prevent them booking, and can lead to lost business. A cargo.one study of users who incurred AWB issues during the past year revealed that 55% had run out of stock. A further 33% had experienced delays with their own AWB stock management, and 12% had experienced an AWB validity failure. Users of cargo.one can now have an AWB automatically assigned when booking with Lufthansa, reducing the time needed and the number of booking errors. Founder and co-CEO of Cargo.one. Oliver Neumann said: “Removing the pesky copy-pasting of AWB numbers makes booking simpler, faster and removes a source of errors. A small improvement with a big impact on our forwarders’ daily work.” Since the COVID-19 pandemic, cargo.one says there has been a surge in digital adoption by freight forwarders worldwide and growing demand for digital processes. Lufthansa Cargo is the first of cargo.one’s airline partners to facilitate auto assigned AWBs in bookings. Lufthansa Cargo CCO Ashwin Bhat said: “At Lufthansa Cargo we are committed to finding new ways to drive our digital user experience across all of our distribution channels.” Freight forwarders using cargo.one with Lufthansa Cargo can book immediately without needing to find a valid AWB number first, although they can choose to still enter one manually. On clicking ‘Book Now’ for any of Lufthansa Cargo’s offers, an AWB is automatically assigned.
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AFKLMP renews CEIV Pharma certification
AIR FRANCE KLM MARTINAIR CARGO (AFKLMP) has been awarded IATA CEIV Pharma certifica-
tion for the Air France and KLM airline processes and its Charles de Gaulle and Schiphol hub operations for the third time. The certification assures pharmaceutical companies of reliable transportation of temperature-controlled and time-sensitive products. Nick Careen, IATA senior vice president operations, safety and security says: “The European freight market is one of the largest in the world, accounting for close to a quarter of total global trade. Having Air France KLM Martinair Cargo, one of the region’s largest cargo operators, achieve CEIV Pharma Certification at two of Europe’s largest airports, for the third time, is a testament to the company’s reliable handling of pharma shipments.”
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Paul Morton joins DRONAMICS MIDDLE-MILE cargo drone developer and operator DRONAMICS has appointed Paul Morton as chief financial officer and member of the executive
Deloitte. He will report to CEO and founder Svilen Rangelov. He said: ”2022 will be a key year for growth, as
team. The appointment comes as the company prepares for the first commercial flights of its flagship Black Swan aircraft and gears up towards operating its first commercial routes and prepares for its Series A funding round set to launch later this year. The company says Morton brings two decades of financial and commercial expertise, having previously held senior roles at DAZN, Perform, and
we mark our first commercial flights with the Black Swan – our proprietary drone powered by clean and energy-efficient technologies. As a fast-growing technology company on the path to net-zero, that is looking to change the status quo in the cargo mobility sector, Paul’s valuable experience and knowledge will be vital as we prepare for our next round of funding and scale up our operations.”
Peli BioThermal updates Crēdo software PELI BIOTHERMAL has announced a number of enhancements to its Crēdo ProEnvision track and trace software. The company says Crēdo ProEnvision 2.0 lays the groundwork for more significant software updates as it continues its focus on visibility and transparency that minimise risk throughout the cold chain. With the most recent updates, Crēdo on Demand customers can now order and track rental orders directly in the software and an audit trail captures past orders, including location. The most visible update, however, is a newly designed interface that creates an intuitive look and feel for an overall better user experience. “Technology is becoming increasingly important to cold chain life sciences shipments,” said Adam Tetz, director of worldwide marketing at Peli BioThermal. “Pharmaceutical companies shipping irreplaceable health-giving and life-saving drugs need the right packaging, at the right time, in the right
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condition. Crēdo ProEnvision software gives full visibility to reusable shipper inventory and data that helps continually improve cold chain operations.” Crēdo ProEnvision software, launched initially in 2007, is a track and trace web-based software programme designed to manage reusable Crēdo shippers. The software provides integration with pharmaceutical programmes, logistics support and reduced total cost of ownership. It also maximises shipper recovery for reverse logistics, aiming to save pharmaceutical companies time and money. Crēdo ProEnvision software’s scan-in/scan-out process identifies the location and status of shippers and captures metrics such as return rates, number of uses and component replacement history. Customisable management reports detail maintenance and offer a complete record of shipper locations and time in service, providing a clearer view of when to replenish, repair or replace a shipper.
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Chancellor’s Spring Statement: Yet again warehousing is ignored RESPONDING to the Chancellor’s Spring Statement on March 23, UK Warehousing Association CEO Clare Bottle commented: “While the contribution of warehousing and logistics to the UK economy and our vital role during the pandemic has been acknowledged by Government – most recently by Minister of Employment Mims Davies – fine words have once again failed to translate into firm action. “The 7.4% inflation forecasts announced are alarming for low margin businesses like warehousing, as we see increases in rent, energy costs and especially labour. Ultimately, our members will have to pass these costs on to their customers, who will no doubt increase charges to consumers, driving up inflation further. “HGV driver apprenticeships have been revamped and we need to do the same for warehousing apprenticeships. UKWA is doing its part, having very recently appointed a new head of training, but Government must do more. “Homeowners are being helped with 0% VAT on energy saving, but what about small businesses? We believe
warehouses can be especially effective in harnessing the benefits of Solar PV. Again, UKWA has commissioned independent research on this, but it’s time for Government to look beyond the domestic market and support small businesses in their efforts to increase sustainability. “Finally, on business rates, despite repeated representations from UKWA and others, yet again, warehousing has been ignored. The Chancellor’s announcement of a business rates discount makes £1.7 billion available for business, but not a penny of that will help warehousing companies. “At a time when our members are facing crippling cost rises due to inflation, have absorbed the impact of Brexit and successive national lockdowns, it’s about time the Government started to listen to us. Government initiatives like net zero and levelling-up will only be delivered if they commit to providing meaningful, practical support to warehousing. Our industry is key to the nation’s economic recovery.”
Cainiao launches Korea distribution centre
THE logistics arm of Alibaba Group, Cainiao Network, has launched its first distribution centre and trucking line haul route in South Korea, which the company says will enhance cross-border delivery services for its e-commerce platform, AliExpress. Spurred on by the pandemic, e-commerce in the region has boomed, creating high demand for capacity on trade lanes out of manufacturing epicentre, China, to the rest of South East Asia. Cainiao says that, with the launch of the new infrastructure, customers in South Korea can receive parcels from mainland China as quickly as three working days. In the near term, Cainiao plans to further expand its last mile delivery network by adding more local courier partners and establishing a comprehensive nation-wide logistics network, beyond the capital city of Seoul. Located within an hour’s drive from Seoul, the capital and largest metropolis in South Korea, the 1500 sq m distribution centre is also located near the local customs clearance checkpoint. The centre is equipped with smart technologies, such as automatic assembly lines, and smart distribution which can support high volume small parcel sortation, amongst other logistics facilities. These will reduce operating costs by 10% and save more than 12 hours in processing and handling time for cross-border deliveries, says Cainiao. To accelerate delivery time, Cainiao has also established a trucking line haul route with daily capacity of 1 tonne that is connected to the distribution centre. Once packages are sorted and packed, they can be brought directly to the nearest courier station to be despatched for last mile delivery.
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ISTANBUL GRAND AIRPORT (iGA) Introduction
iGA Istanbul Airport is a prime hub at the intersection of Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It has been serving more than 300 destinations with a significant share of Turkish Airlines and Turkish Cargo. Within 3 hours of flight distance, there are 120 countries, 60 capital cities and 130 destinations. For air cargo, companies flying to and from Istanbul provides a natural advantage. Besides geographical advantage airport, infrastructure and service quality is also important for speedy air cargo, and it secures high operational productivity.
Efficiency and Flexibility
Istanbul Cargo City has been located in a north-south direction between two of its three runways, number 1 and 2. Landside and airside operations are being operated in the same district. Very short taxi times are a significant advantage. With its three independent runways having a minimum slot capacity of 120 in an hourly peak time. Parking capacities for 38 narrow body and 29 wide-body aircraft in max 50m distance to bounded warehouses. Similar proximity for trucks on the landside as well. There are wide operational areas for loading and unloading trucks in docking areas. Access to cargo city from landside by two tunnels provides zero traffic. Belly cargo can be carried very fast to/from cargo city from passenger terminal through tunnels on the airside as well.
Airport Area and Cargo Capacity
The Cargo City within iGA Istanbul Airport covers an area of 1.4 million square meters. Capacity is 1.5 million tonnes per year. When all phases are completed at IST the capacity will reach 5.5 million tonnes per year.
Special Services Pharma Fresh Valuable products Live animal Dry/refrigerated food Radioactive material
The Handling Company
All related parties such as all Customs facilities, Bounded and Unbounded Warehouses, Transportation Companies, ground handling companies are located in the area and provides an advantage for fast operation.
For futher information visit: www.istairport.com/en/commercial/cargo-hub/cargo-hub
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(continues from page 1) Before it enters operational service, the A320P2F will go through the customer acceptance process, registration and finally painting of the customer livery. EFW CEO Andreas Sperl says, “With this STC, we have added another first in the world to our family of Airbus P2F platforms. “The A320P2F is a great complement to our other conversion programmes. Airlines which employ different Airbus freighters to meet their various needs will get to enjoy improved operating economics due to the commonality across these platforms. Being a newer-generation freighter, it also offers greener fuel burn outcomes for its operators.” The current global Airbus A320 passenger fleet comprises thousands of aircraft, offering good-fitting
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options for airlines and leasing companies wanting to invest in converted freighters. This makes the A320P2F an ideal freighter platform to serve the fast-growing e-commerce market globally. The widebody A330P2F programme also comes in two variants – the A330-200P2F and A330-300P2F. The A330-200P2F can carry a gross payload of up to 61 tonnes for over 7,700 km. The A330-300P2F offers a gross payload of up to 63 tonnes and a containerised volume of up to 18,581ft3 (526m3), which adds 23% more cargo volume than other freighter aircraft in the same class. To meet the rising demand for freighter conversions, ST Engineering and EFW are setting up new conversion sites in China and the US this year, and are ramping up conversion capacity for all their AirbusP2F programmes to over 60 slots per year by 2024.
CharterSync celebrates 250th COVID supplies China flight
DIGITAL air cargo charter business CharterSync has landed its 250th outbound China flight carrying vital Covid-19 medical supplies including test kits and syringes. The company is seeing continued demand for supplies. Co-founder and director of CharterSync, Ed Gillett, says, “Covid-19 infection rates continue to grow in the UK.” Finding belly-space for vital supplies has required an unconventional decision says Gillett. Narrow-bodied aircraft like the Airbus A321 are not typically employed for long-haul flights due to their lower fuel capacity, (so) we made the unconventional – and ultimately successful - decision to use short-haul passenger and freight aircraft to complement the wide-bodied Boeing 747s, Boeing 777s, and Airbus A330s,” says Gillett. “Even when factoring in a refuelling stop en route, CharterSync was able to deliver the goods on schedule.” As a result, since November 2021, the company has facilitated the arrival of 57 flights of Covid-19 syringes and test kits into the UK, with an additional 193 flights unloading at European airports including Frankfurt, Paris Charles de Gaulle, and Madrid’s Barajas International Airport.
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In the UK, CharterSync bypassed traditional hubs such as Heathrow and East Midlands Airport to land cargoes at Liverpool, Birmingham and Bournemouth, and was responsible for the first wide-body cargo flights at Liverpool John Lennon Airport. In China, the company targeted regional airports such as Wuhan, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Xiamen and Zhengzhou. “Using regional airports was a key part of our strategy,” continues Gillett, who is himself an Airbus A321 pilot. “In the UK, leveraging spare capacity in Liverpool, Birmingham and Bournemouth allowed our customers to skip the queues at Heathrow and East Midlands Airport, and to expedite unloading when the major hubs were congested. In China, where major hubs are experiencing a chronic shortage of trained ground staff, we offset this by targeting lower-volume airports.” Liverpool John Lennon Airport director of aviation development Paul Winfield adds, “Liverpool Airport has been delighted to work alongside CharterSync handling critical flights, serving the Northwest community and beyond. The airport has proven itself more than capable of handling regular wide-body services, and looks forward to welcoming more over the coming months.”
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FEATURE
LIEGE AIRPORT IS LEVELLING UP
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ocated in the middle of the golden freight triangle, between Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris, Liege Airport has benefited from high demand for cargo services and reported finishing last year on a high. In 2021, the airport’s freight traffic reached 1,412,498 tonnes (+26%), as opposed to 1,120,643 tonnes in 2020. Reflecting this, the airport is investing in its infrastructure to cope with high demand. Communication manager Christian Delcourt, says: “We have made available a new 12,000 m² warehouse in the northern area which is occupied by Challenge. The first phase of the Cainiao warehouse has been operational since October 2021. That’s 30,000 m² more. “Besides the warehouses, we have a master plan with several major investments such as the lengthening of the secondary runway and construction of additional aircraft parking lots. “We always learn from a crisis,” says Delcourt, reflecting on what was learnt from the pandemic. “We have seen very high flexibility, better connectivity, an enthusiastic spirit and better collaborations between public authorities and private partners. There are so many beautiful things that have emerged during this time.” This fits into the airport’s wider growth strategy, which, Delcourt says, aims to transform the airport’s “DNA from a transit air cargo airport to an efficient provider or multi-modal logistics solutions. How will this be done? Delcourt explains that the airport is focussing on a number of factors to achieve this, including improving operational performance, in particular improving the quality of cargo handling and speeding up transit time. Building on its strategic location, Delcourt says the airport aims to play an active role in the set-up and promotion of multi-modal solutions (air, road, train, inland waterway and sea) and grow the service offering on site with the addition of wide-body aircraft maintenance, public transportation, staff restaurants and a Liege Airport Academy, to train fresh talent. Digitalisation is also part of the strategy and Delcourt says the airport will offer “data processing and digital tools to the handlers and logisticians in a cloud environment”. As more players invest in pharmaceutical capabilities, extending the offering of specialist cargo has also become a key pillar of the airport’s growth. Wider global issues do threaten the growth of the airport, including, as Delcourt notes, the “increase in fuel prices and transport prices in general as well as the lack of transport units (all types of transport combined) and of course the war in Ukraine.” But despite this, he is optimistic: “The air cargo industry still has a very bright future ahead of it. The environment, digitalisation and multimodality are major and exciting issues to tackle.”
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EUROPEAN CARGO
UKRAINE CONFLICT CASTS A SHADOW BUT THERE ARE REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
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or Adrien Thominet, Europe’s e-commerce boom, which shows no sign of abating, is a big reason as to why market confidence is strong. He says: “e-commerce continues to play an important role in the market as demand, already strong due to the pandemic, continues to intensify and Europe is one of the epicentres of this phenomenon. “It is also worth noting that there is more freight moving from ocean to air, particularly in terms of priority freight transport. Air cargo continues to provide an alternative to congested seaports, and Europe is no exception.” Obviously Europe, and the wider global community could not foresee the awful events that are taking place in Ukraine. This shock to Europe’s peace threatens people and markets. Thominet says ECS Group is directly concerned and affected by the situation in the Ukraine as it has an office in the country. The office is of course suffering from the suspension of activity. However, despite the extremely complicated and sad situation, our employees remain active,” he says. Repercussions from the war threaten the air cargo sector in Europe and globally, like the rise in oil prices, which were already at a high level before the war in Ukraine. Thominet says this has already started to create problems for the industry. “Added to this,” says Thominet, “is the uncertainty of the consequences of the conflict. IATA itself has not yet made any forecasts on the operational or economic impact of the conflict on the global airline industry.” On the flip side, the ECS chief says there are reasons to be optimistic. He notes that the Netherlands, France, Spain and Germany’s air cargo markets are all performing well at the moment. “At the same time, the number of commercial airlines flying is increasing, including in Europe, and e-commerce is also driving market demand,” he adds.
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“The freight industry has adapted and continued to evolve in 2021 to meet the needs of trade during a global health crisis. The year 2022 is expected to be better and just as resilient.” Resilience is a quality GSAs in particular must possess and Thominet recently said that the “traditional GSA concept is no longer enough” in the changing cargo market. How can GSAs adapt? Thominet says: “What is obvious is that traditional and standard GSAs are going to have to change to maintain their role, as a GSA you have to bring real added value to the game and not stay at the back of the field. “Of course there is the need to be digital as digitalisation is a key component of the future of air cargo business and supply chain. Awareness and adopting any new technology have been the biggest challenge among various stakeholders. With changing times, it becomes important for stakeholders to invest in adopting and upgrading technologies to make them smarter and efficient. “There is also a growing interest in the ability to innovate, to think of new services and solutions to respond to paradigm shifts that are sometimes sudden (as the pandemic has shown us) but with a strong touch of sustainability. As a GSA, we must not forget this aspect of things: we have to take into consideration a whole context that has a direct impact on our clients’ demands and our ability to respond to them. This is how ECS Group has designed its abilities, modules specially developed to meet these new needs. The fact is that the key word when it comes to being a successful GSA is agility and agility means being able to adapt to the unexpected, quickly and efficiently. Thominet concludes: “Finally, GSAs, no matter how strong they are, must never forget the importance of the human factor. It is the teams that make a group what it is. The pandemic has proven this. For ECS Group, this is a key concept, the cornerstone of our “augmented GSA” strategy. It is more so today than ever before.”
FEATURE
TWO MINUTES WITH GLYN HUGHES
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ACW: What do you think will be the key messages conveyed at NACS this year? Hughes: How the need for continued flexible agile solutions is even more critical following the events in Ukraine coming on the back of an already stressed system caused by Covid.
after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? Hughes: After air cargo rebounded so dramatically from the initial effects of global shutdown in March 2020 we don’t even think of the need for recovery - it’s more about dealing with the strong demand. However, my optimism about further growth, which was as recent as January, is starting to turn a little pessimistic based on a number of current factors; such as increased inflation, further capacity stresses, increased operational costs arising from increased fuel prices and lengthened journey times resulting from air space prohibitions. Not to mention that during times of heightened global political uncertainty, the consumer usually adopts a more cautious defensive mode and thus risks arise relating to global economic growth.
ACW: Are you optimistic about air cargo’s recovery given the renewed sense of uncertainty that has clouded the world
ACW: What do you see as the biggest threat to the industry’s recovery?
n April 5, TIACA director general Glyn Hughes, will be joining a panel with Ashwin Bhat, chief commercial officer, Lufthansa Cargo and Mads Drejer, global COO & CCO, executive vice president, Scan Global Logistics at the Nordic Air Cargo Symposium (NACS) to talk about the challenges and opportunities currently facing the industry. ACW caught up with Hughes ahead of the conference.
Hughes: I’ve addressed air cargo recovery above but in terms of passenger recovery, which is critical to help address the shortage of cargo capacity as well as providing crucial global connectivity, the situation still looks very delicate. Passengers need clarity and consistency regarding travel restrictions such as testing, vaccinations and quarantine, until that is addressed a significant number of the travelling public will avoid long haul travel. Domestic travel has bounced back well as these restrictions are much lessened. Unfortunately, the situation in Ukraine is also impacting passenger recovery with concern over flying to Europe and again more complex, lengthy and costly flights from Asia to Europe. ACW: On a lighter note, what are you looking forward during your visit to Copenhagen? Hughes: Enjoying an ice cold Danish beer shared with great industry colleagues and friends!
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