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WORLD AIRPORTS .COM ACW Digital is sponsored by FREIGHTERS.COM
FREIGH
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27/04/2022 15:33
The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals No. 1,179
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9 MAY 2022
We remain positive, says Turkish ... UKRAINE WAR PROMPTS POLAND TO PRIORITISE NEW AIRPORT PLAN
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INSIDE
GERMAN AIRPORTS SEE ...
FOLLOWING the sharp declines caused by the pandemic during the previous years, Leipzig/ Halle and Dresden Airports saw significant growth in freight ... PAGE 2
NAS APPOINTS FRANCE ...
NETWORK AIRLINE SERVICES has appointed Anthony Fernandes to the new position of sales and services supervisor for France ... PAGE 3
PARTNERSHIP BEARS FRUIT ...
SAUDIA CARGO says it has achieved significant growth in e-commerce shipments following the signing of last year’s co-operation deal ...
CHAPMAN TAYLOR ARCHITECTS
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ussia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine has prompted the Polish Government to prioritise plans for a completely new freight and passenger airport. The Solidarity Transport Hub (STH) has been planned since 2017 on a greenfield site halfway between Warsaw and Łódź. Due to be completed by 2027, it will combine air, rail and road transport. The cargo forecast for STH indicates 0.5 million tonnes of cargo in 2030, rising to 1m tonnes in 2035 and up to 1.76m tonnes by the end of the forecast period in 2060, which would make it one of the largest cargo hubs in Europe, comparable with main gateways such as London Heathrow or Paris. While planned as a civil airport, STH will also increase the security of Poland and Central and Eastern Europe as it could be used to transfer military units, equipment, goods or humanitarian aid or support rapid reaction forces.
STH will be at the heart of a rail hub while its location near the A2 motorway will also provide convenient integration with the road network, making for rapid transfer of equipment or goods between air and rail or truck. The STH company set up to carry out the project has been consulting with the military on the design of the new airport and rail links since 2019 as part of the airport master plan and feasibility studies. International airport design companies have been invited to submit concepts for the new hub. In an interview with Polish media, chief of the Aeromobile and Motorised Forces, Brigadier Dariusz Wroński, former said: “Because of the events we are witnessing: the pandemic, the Russian aggression against Ukraine and all other unforeseen circumstances, this project is included in the priorities of the Polish state. It will be a signal to the world that large aircraft and large cargoes can come to our region. Bearing in mind the security of Poland, this is an investment needed urgently.”
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HYDRATION EQUALS HAPPINESS
AIRCRAFT manufacturers are taking steps to tackle the problem of dehydration of freighter aircraft crews. ... PAGE 6
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NEWS German airports see more freight in first quarter FOLLOWING the sharp declines caused by the pandemic during the previous years, Leipzig/Halle and Dresden Airports saw significant growth in freight volumes. The number of aircraft movements during the first quarter was also higher, at 21,658, compared with 18,037 take-offs and landings in the previous year. Freight at Leipzig/Halle totalled 385,438 tonnes during the first quarter, an increase of 7.3%. Europe’s fourth-largest and Germany’s second-largest cargo airport set a new record in 2021, handling about 1.6 million tonnes of freight. Aircraft movements rose by 12.9% to 18,352 in 2022. Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG has three subsidiaries: Leipzig/Halle Airport, Dresden Airport and PortGround. PortGround offers ground, freight and other extensive handling services at Leipzig/Halle and Dresden Airports round the clock.
First CDB A330-300 conversion goes to Mexico CDB AVIATION, a wholly owned Irish subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing has taken delivery of its first ever freighter aircraft. The A330-300 passenger-to-freighter (P2F) was converted by Elbe Flugzeugwerke and leased by CDB Aviation to its launch customer, Mexico-based cargo carrier, mas. It is the carrier’s third Airbus wide body conversion from EFW and its first A330-300P2F. The Mexican cargo carrier already operates
A330-200P2F aircraft leased from Altavair. Andrés Fabre, representative of the Discovery Americas Investment Fund - the main investor in mas - said: “We see at mas an impeccable execution of the business plan that we designed together; mas is looking for opportunities introducing modern and efficient aircraft of different models and capacities. All this is turning mas - as planned - into the Mexican cargo airline with a global footprint in the short term.”
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Freighters put Air Canada among fastest growing carriers, says cargo chief
AIR CANADA CARGO continues to be one of the fastest growing cargo carriers thanks to its global network and dedicated freighter capacity, said vice president, cargo, Jason Berry, commenting on the carrier’s Q1 results. He said: “With the aircraft that had been temporarily converted to carry cargo in the cabin returning to passenger service, we are happy to now have two converted Boeing 767-300BDSF freighters in operation. “Along with an enhanced freighter schedule, this will allow Air Canada Cargo to connect more destinations with direct freighter capacity for our forwarding partners, whom I thank for their continued loyalty,” said Berry. Air Canada also announced the acquisition of two new, factory-built Boeing 767-300F freighters. They will be delivered this year and are in addition to the eight 767-300s that are being converted for cargo operations. Berry continued: “Since their entry into service, our Boeing 767-300BDSF freighters have proven their value to Air Canada and Air Canada
Cargo.” The announcement was “a further signal of our long-term commitment to freighters as we continue to adapt and grow at Air Canada Cargo. These additional factory-built 767-300F aircraft will allow Air Canada Cargo to speed up the expansion of its freighter fleet, helping provide reliable, dedicated service to key cargo routes around the world,” further bolstering the capacity provided by Air Canada’s mainline fleet.” The carrier’s Boeing 767-300 freighters offer five different main deck configurations, increasing the overall cargo capacity of each aircraft to nearly 58 tonnes or 438 cubic metres, about 75% of it on the main deck. The freighter aircraft allows the carrier to provide consistent capacity on key routes. They also increase the capability to transport goods such as automotive and aerospace parts, oil and gas equipment, pharmaceuticals, perishables, as well as handling the growing demand for fast, reliable shipment of e-commerce goods.
Freighter market remains buoyant, says analyst
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THE Boeing 737-800 is dominating growth of the global freighter fleet, but A321 and A330 conversions are also increasing, said industry consultant IBA in a webinar on 29 April. The market continues to be buoyant, even as the recovery from the pandemic gathers pace, it said. The Boeing 737-800 freighter fleet has almost doubled in size to 113 from 59 a year ago, demonstrating its sustained appeal due to its optimal size and value for conversion. Despite its increasing legacy status, the Boeing 767-300 freighter fleet has also continued to grow from 127 to 156, driven by the plentiful availability of feedstock aircraft from retiring passenger fleets. Despite their much smaller baseline numbers, data from IBA’s InsightIQ platform demonstrates a clear growth in Airbus converted freighter fleets. The A321 freighter fleet has doubled from four to eight aircraft over the past year, while A330s (-200 and -300) have also increased from 10 to 16. The growth in demand for all of these air-
craft types is illustrated by the increasing number of conversion centres for each, with at least nine facilities becoming active for the A321, at least six for the A330 and 15 for the Boeing 737-800. The number of conversion lines for the Boeing 777-300ER is also growing as demand increases. IAA, which initially unveiled its conversion programme for the aircraft in 2019 with a single line, has approved two others. Further conversions programmes have now been rolled out by NIAR WERX and Mammoth Freighters. IBA estimates that the market values of most freighter types have remained stable over the last 12 months with only a slight drop, especially in younger model aircraft. The value of a 2006 build Boeing 737-800BCF has dropped by just 3.7% to US$21.23 million, and the value of a 2001 build A321-200PTF has declined by 6.3% to US$22.79 million. The only major exception are the Boeing 737 ‘Classic’ types where, for example, a 1999 build 737-400BDSF has fallen by 14% to US$7.05 million.
HAE Group: A clarification IN our recent Europe supplement, we accidently confused the image in the ‘HAE Group - An industry in flux as it recovers article’. The image
used in the article is of Blake Attley, regional director, UK & Ireland for HAE Group. We apologise for any confusion caused.
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NEWS Airforwarders launch US New Bermuda airport airport congestion drive ready for business, with a little help from SCACLI I
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THE Airforwarders Association (AfA) is driving an initiative to help find solutions for five critical issues contributing to airport congestion in the US. Members of AfA’s Airport Congestion Committee (ACC) met in April and agreed to develop solutions in technology and automation, service standards, airport facilities and infrastructure, staffing and hours of operation
and regulatory and paperwork challenges. The five critical issues were identified by a survey of airport cargo stakeholders by AfA, the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) and the Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA). ACC members will now work on producing a Recommendation Paper with which to approach private, public, and government entities to highlight challenges and suggest solutions for cargo congestion issues at airports. ACC chair and vice president of AfA member Kale Info Solutions, Donna Mullins, (pictured) said: “When we have completed the work, we will be inviting the air cargo industry to come together to implement the needed solutions for more efficient throughput and movement of inbound and outbound air cargo at airports. “Our survey generated hundreds of responses from a broad cross-section of industry segments clearly articulating a number of problems that require remedial action. “Our deliverable will not be a document that sits on a shelf. We will be presenting concerns as well as potential solutions to key industry leaders and appropriate members of Congress and the Office of the Secretary of Transportation. “The potential upside of our efforts is enormous with regard to our ability to obtain available public funds for a wide range of capital and technology improvements.” The ACC was recently joined by Airlines for America (A4A) and the Airline Service Pro-
viders Association (ASPA) in seeking to drive improvements including enhanced electronic communications linking all airport stakeholders, as well as improved access and on-airport landside infrastructure to accommodate the operating demands of the trucking industry. Modernised airport cargo facilities designed to facilitate throughput and accommodate the requirements of mechanised handling
systems, and cross-training across all business segments to enhance communications and operating efficiency, are also identified as key areas for improvement. “Congestion at our airports is such an important issue, and by working together as a committee we are able to draw upon each member’s unique knowledge and diverse experience, to be able to execute a robust plan and achieve our collective goals of improved throughput and modernisation of outdated infrastructure with an emphasis on environmental sustainability,” said Shawn Richard, director, vice president Global Air Freight for AfA member SEKO Logistics and vice chair of the ACC. Members of the 35-strong ACC comprise companies from across the supply chain, including airports, airlines, ground handlers, forwarders, and trucking and tech companies. They have been tasked with prioritising and suggesting solutions using a list of evaluation criteria including costs, applicability and ease of implementation, urgency and timelines. AfA executive director, Brandon Fried, concluded: “Truck congestion caused by handling delays at major airport cargo facilities continues to cost our members significant financial resources and lost productivity. This initiative will help us identify causes while providing a foundational document to share with government officials in creating solutions to the challenge.” ACC will meet at the end of May to review submissions and plan next steps and deliverables.
INTERNATIONAL project forwarder SCACLI says it played a key part in construction of the recently completed LF Wade International Airport redevelopment in Bermuda. The $267 million work began in March
“SCACLI’s role consisted of project management, marshalling and cargo movements from origins such as US, Canada, UK, Spain, China, and the Netherlands.” SCACLI worked closely with all parties by
2017. It included the construction of the new 28,800sq m terminal, additional apron space and light systems, modifying the taxiway, installing new aircraft refuelling systems and decommissioning most of the current terminal. SCACLI was nominated to manage and oversee all transportation requirements. COO and Partner Maria Misurka, explained: “Moving cargo to Bermuda had its unique challenges and as the project manager, the Bermuda team and I found solutions with our many partnerships and contacts around the world.
organising chartered vessels, barge movements and mobilisation of heavy equipment. It also arranged ocean container shipping, consolidations, air cargo and air charters on behalf of the customer and its subcontractors. The forwarder also customised plans and managed every purchase order from the moment it was issued until the cargo arrived customs-cleared delivered to site. It shipped everything required to build the airport, from small tools, parts and dangerous goods to heavy construction machinery, vehicles, cranes, the asphalt plant, backhoes, bulldozers and graders.
NAS appoints France supervisor NETWORK AIRLINE SERVICES has appointed Anthony Fernandes to the new position of sales and services supervisor for France at its Paris CDG office. Fernandes originally started working with the
Network Airline Services team in France as an export supervisor in 2014. Then, from February 1, 2018, he took on the role of sales representative for customers based in the CDG area, as well as in the north of the country.
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Pandemic response chinches Silver Stevie Asia-Pacific award for Cainiao Network
CAINIAO Network, the logistics arm of Alibaba Group, was named the winner of a Silver
Stevie Award in the Most Valuable Corporate Response category in the 2022 Asia-Pacific
Stevie Awards. The category recognises organisations that demonstrated exemplary responses to the pandemic to ensure the well-being of their employees, customers, and communities. The winners will be celebrated during a virtual ceremony on Wednesday, June 29. Cainiao consistently demonstrated strong support for important stakeholders during the pandemic outbreak, including the government, airports, institutions and other logistics partners, to provide an efficient and reliable logistics network. To overcome challenges around accessibility to medical equipment and resources at the peak of the pandemic, the Cainiao Green Channel was established to facilitate humanitarian
aid and cross-border logistics movements. With international partners such as the International Olympics Organizing Committee and the United Nations World Food Programme, Cainiao delivered critical resources such as vaccines, test kits and PPE to 150 countries and regions. Its advanced technology capabilities allowed real-time temperature control and location tracking of the millions of vaccines that were delivered to different regions, including Asia, Latin America, and Africa. With mobile cold storage solar-powered vehicles and the latest vacuum insulation technology, vaccines in the temperature control boxes remained at two to eight degrees Celsius for more than nine days.
Saudia-Cainiao partnership boosts e-commerce
SAUDIA CARGO says it has achieved significant growth in e-commerce shipments following the signing of last year’s co-operation agreement with Cainiao Network, the logistics arm of Alibaba Group. The agreement created a thriving ‘sky bridge’ between Asia and Europe, allowing Saudia Cargo to benefit from the opportunities arising from the growing global e-commerce market. Cainiao joined Saudia Cargo’s flight programme in March 2021, linking Hong Kong SAR to Liege in Belgium, via Saudia Cargo’s Riyadh hub, with 12 freighter flights per week. Vikram Vohra, Saudia Cargo’s regional director – Asia Pacific, said: “The agreement has allowed us to benefit from access to Alibaba’s e-commerce platform as online shopping continues to soar, boosted in part by the Covid-19 pandemic. The partnership with Cainiao, which offers logistics services to more than 200 coun-
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tries, is central to our growth strategy for this decade and sets the template for future co-operation agreements. Cainiao has become a trusted and valued partner.” Dandy Zhang, commercial director of global line haul for Cainiao’s Cross-border business added: “As a global smart logistics company, Cainiao has been consistently enhancing its logistics services and efficiency to satisfy the booming demand for e-commerce in Europe and Middle East. Our partnership with Saudia Cargo has been fruitful, and we look forward to strengthening our cooperation in the long term.” Saudia Cargo has increased cargo flights to destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America over the past few years to meet rising demand for e-Commerce and deliver on its ‘Vision 2030’ strategy for growth.
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B&H Worldwide becomes a climate-positive business AEROSPACE LOGISTICS provider B&H Worldwide, has partnered with Earthly, a platform that connects businesses to solutions that remove carbon, restore biodiversity and support local communities. B&H chose Earthly because it wanted to commit to long-term projects with measurable benefits rather than simply paying to offset its carbon emissions. The commitment builds on other initiatives by the company which led to two Green Apple and two Green World awards for environmental practice in the distribution and logistics sector. It strives to achieve market-leading standards for best practice in all areas where it operates. The company has a long-term carbon reduction project focussed on changing working practices within the organisation to deliver a measurable environment and sustainability policy worldwide so that all stakeholders can see the year-on-year reductions it is achieving.
From the beginning of April, as part of the Earthly partnership and its commitment to being a carbon neutral business, B&H will plant a mangrove tree for every air freight shipment it processes. This will remove carbon, restore nature and help reverse climate breakdown, it says. B&H Worldwide’s group head of finance Paul Wakefield said: “By signing up to the Earthly platform we have found projects which we believe can inspire us to further enhance our commitment to reducing the impact the work we do has on the environment. “We pride ourselves on being a responsive, sustainable business through using environmentally sound innovative logistics solutions. Joining something which our customers can also aspire to illustrates how inclusive we want to make this. Every shipment they send with B&H can be part of the Earthly scheme. “This is an innovative, practical and climate positive solution which the whole team is proud to have signed up to”, he adds.
UPS revenue and profits up in first quarter
UPS’S consolidated revenue increased 6.4% to $24.4 billion in the first quarter of the year, said the company in its latest financial results. Consolidated operating profit was $3.3 billion, up 17.6% compared to the first quarter of 2021, and up 12.1% on an adjusted basis. Diluted earnings per share were $3.03 for the quarter; adjusted diluted earnings per share of $3.05 were 10.1% above the same period in 2021. For the first quarter of 2022, GAAP results include a net charge of $19 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, comprised of after-tax transformation and other charges of $43 million offset by an after-tax gain of $24 million resulting from the curtailment of benefits in a Canadian retirement plan. CEO Carol Tomé said: “I want to thank all UPSers for their outstanding efforts during a challenging first quarter to serve the needs of our customers. “The agility of our network and the continued execution of our strategy delivered another quarter of strong financial performance, putting us on our way to achieving our 2022 consolidated financial targets.” UPS also reaffirmed its full-year financial targets for 2022. These are: consolidated revenue of about $102 billion; consolidated adjusted operating margin of around 13.7%; adjusted return on invested capital above 30%; capital expenditures of 5.4% of revenue, or about $5.5 billion; and dividend payments, subject to board approval, of about $5.2 billion. UPS also plans to double share repurchases for 2022, taking the target to $2 billion for the year.
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Stella Wang joins the Jettainer set
STELLA Wang has joined ULD management firm Jettainer’s Hong Kong team in the new role of head of product for lease&fly and will serve customers in the East Asia region. Stella Wang has worked in aviation for more than a decade including Sinotrans Air Transportation’s cargo department. She also spent many years with Cathay Pacific in various positions in the cargo business, including identifying Cathay Pacific’s ULD needs. Her duties at Jettainer will include customer services and distribution in East Asia, along with ramping up the lease&fly service, which allows standard and specialty ULDs to
be leased for ad hoc assignments for periods lasting from one day to several months. Her appointment is part of the ULD service provider’s growth strategy in the Asian region. It opened a new office in Singapore in December. Jettainer managing director, Thomas Sonntag, remarked: “Stella Wang is well acquainted with airlines’ ULD needs and is a seamless fit for our international team of experts. We plan to work with her to continue unlocking highgrowth markets in Asia and expanding our wide-ranging services from complete ULD management to leasing operations.”
Multimodal solution overcomes border delays UK-based urgent logistics firm Priority Freight’s multimodal experts came to the aid of a vehicle manufacturer facing a production line stoppage. The car maker routinely ships parts from Serbia to a production facility in South Africa. The usual road haulage route was experiencing substantial delays at the Serbian-Hungarian border, so alternative transport was needed immediately to prevent production delays. Priority Freight’s multimodal solution delivered the parts to the South African factory in little over 48 hours, in time for the start of the Monday morning shift. Car parts are often manufactured in one location and transported across countries or continents to reach the assembly line where they become part of an end product. This relies on accurate and timely sequencing, without which this fragile chain can easily break, creating financial and reputational harm. The vehicle manufacturer makes parts at its Serbian factory for distribution to its network of production plants, including to East London, South Africa. The regular shipment usually moves by road from the Serbian factory to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport from where the goods are flown to OR Tambo International Airport. However, the issues at the Serbian-Hungarian border meant the goods would be
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delayed and potentially halt South African production. Priority Freight received a call from the manufacturer on a Thursday evening, stressing the urgency of the shipment. It immediately formed a response team to devise alternative shipping and arrange delivery of the 890kg of parts to the South African factory before Monday morning. Overnight on Thursday, Priority Freight’s experts liaised with colleagues, ground agents and carriers worldwide to have the shipment back on track and by Friday morning a truck was waiting to collect the parts from the Serbian factory. Rather than exit Serbia by road and face border delays, the goods were taken to Belgrade airport where they were loaded onto a waiting ATR chartered aircraft and flown to Oostende in Belgium. From there the parts were transferred to another truck which drove to Amsterdam Schiphol airport to meet a long-haul commercial cargo flight bound for Johannesburg. After a flight time of 11 hours the cargo flight landed at OR Tambo International Airport on Saturday evening, less than 48 hours after the parts were collected from Serbia. A twin-prop Metro plane then completed the final 600 miles from Johannesburg to East London arriving at 03:30 local time on Sunday morning, in plenty of time to be unloaded and in place for the factory to recommence production the following day.
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Menzies takes controlling stake in Chile’s Agunsa MENZIES AVIATION has acquired a controlling stake in Agunsa Aviation Services, which provides full ground and air cargo handling services in Santiago, Chile.
Menzies’ existing operations in five other countries in Central and South America including Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala.
Agunsa Aviation Services was a wholly owned subsidiary of Agencias Universales, a large and diverse Chilean business with a history in shipping and more recently, aviation. It provides full ground handling and air cargo handling services to several major international airlines at Santiago de Chile Airport (SCL), including United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Qatar Airways. It also operates an 11,000 sq m on-airport cargo warehouse, handling import and export cargo and courier traffic. The new Chilean business will complement
Menzies Aviation CEO, Philipp Joeinig, said: “We have found a unique partner in Agencias Universales, which has a long and successful history as a leader in logistics in the region and we are looking forward to expanding our business and footprint with our new partner.” Agencias Universales CEO, Fernando Rodriguez, added: “We are very pleased to enter this new partnership with Menzies Aviation and work with their team to build a market leading business across Chile and beyond. This deal will help accelerate the growth ambitions of both businesses.”
A hydrated crew is a happy crew AIRCRAFT manufacturers are taking steps to tackle the problem of dehydration of freighter aircraft crews. The fight deck of a modern freighter is the driest section in the aircraft with almost no moisture content in the air. It is in fact world’s most dehydrating working environment. All human organs, including brains, need water to function properly. If a body is dehydrated, it isn’t running well — and that can lead to stress. Even modest dehydration increases the level of the stress hormone, Cortisol, and flight deck air is extremely dry. A flight deck humidifier can help to keep stress levels down.
It makes pilots feel better and more easily stay healthy, as well as recover faster after a long-haul flight. The ‘Humidifier Onboard’ flight deck is a de facto standard on Boeing 787 and it is a popular selection on the Airbus A350 as well as the Boeing 777X. Airbus now includes flight deck and crew rest humidifiers as an option for the new flagship A350F freighter. CTT Systems provides humidity control products for aircraft, including moisture control systems to prevent fuselage condensation, and inflight humidifiers for crew and passenger well-being.
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Peli BioThermal opens Baltimore service centre LIFE science packaging specialist Peli BioThermal has opened a service centre in Baltimore, Maryland. Close to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, it will offer Crēdo Cube reusable and CoolGuard Advance single-use shippers. The site will also condition Peli BioThermal products with temperature ranges of 2-8°C and -20°C. Maryland, along with Virginia and Washington DC, is part of the BioHealth Capital Region, a biohealth cluster of 1,800 life sciences companies, over 70 federal labs and academic and research institutions. It has a stated goal to become one of the top three biohealth regions in the US by 2023. Baltimore itself is home to a growing number of biotech and life sciences companies including Emergent Biosolu-
tions and a large number of emerging companies. Johns Hopkins University serves as an incubator for new ideas that generate spin off companies ready to advance to clinical trials. The Maryland facility joins over 30 global network stations, service centres and drop points, including service centres in China and India opened by Peli BioThermal in the past three months. Vice president of global services, Dominic Hyde, said: “Our customers count on us to solve their most complex cold chain challenges, wherever they are in the world. A strategically placed, growing global network means we can meet them at their doorstep or near troublesome shipping lanes. It gives us the opportunity to truly partner as our customers deliver health-giving and life-saving pharmaceutical products.”
Supply chains need to be flexible, says expert
SUPPLY chains need to be flexible to minimise potential disruption caused by China’s regional lockdown, according to supply chain expert Phil Reuben. Reuben, who is executive director at SCALA, which provides management services for the supply chain and logistics sector, says: “With stay-home orders being given across the economic hubs of China including Shanghai, Shenzhen and Jilin, we are facing significant pressure on global supply chains, with China accounting for about 12% of global trade. “Congestion at Chinese ports, reduced stock and limited truck deliveries are being combined with the pressure already facing supply chains across the world as a result of the Ukrainian conflict. To reduce the impact of geo-political and Covid related events, businesses need to build flexibility into their supply chains to build up resilience to disruption. “In recent years supply chain disruption has been at historic levels. Whilst efficiency and profitability used to be the main driver of a successful logistics business, now adaptability and resilience during periods of disruption are the key indicators of a successful company. “Building flexibility into the planning stage of operations creates resilience to crises within supply chains. A risk management process at both the business and supply level is key to an end-to-end monitoring and management system to enable a swift disaster response and recovery process.” Collaboration between all stakeholders means businesses can respond to events quickly and keep supply chains moving, despite Covid lockdowns, he says. Having alternative suppliers based in different regions across the world and different transport options reduces reliance on a region that may be facing high Covid infection rates or the many other geo-political disruptions. “Building flexibility into supply chain operations and planning for future regional lockdowns is key to mitigating future supply chain disruption. Organisations that are able to quickly adapt to changing conditions will be those that are successful in the long-term when supply chain uncertainty seems to always be around the corner.”
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VIEW FROM THE MAINDECK WE REMAIN POSITIVE, SAYS TURKISH CARGO CHIEF AIR CARGO WEEK talks to Salih Kamil Salihoğlu - cargo director Northern Europe at Turkish Airlines. Salih Kamil Salihoğlu joined Turkish Cargo in 2011 as a senior strategic planner and became cargo revenue management and pricing manager in 2014, until his deployment to London as Northern Europe’s regional cargo director in 2020. So far, how much has the conflict in Ukraine affected Turkish Cargo’s cargo operations and has it any contingency plans in place in case the conflict escalates? First of all, we sympathise with the suffering of everyone who has been affected by the ongoing war and hope that it will end as soon as possible. Due to the conflicts in the region, Turkish Cargo cancelled Ukraine and Belarus cargo flights, until the end of April. Flights to Russia remain. During the last decade Turkish Cargo has been expanding its activities abroad to build one of the widest networks in the world. Along with this development, our company has strengthened its ability to adapt its activities to changing world conditions. In recent years, the industry has faced some challenging situations, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, and Turkish Cargo has been able to continue developing its operations while global
conditions were often subject to change. However, we hope the conflict will soon come to an end, and that peace will be re-established in the region. What do you see as the biggest threat to air cargo growth in Europe? The air cargo industry faced a transformation during the pandemic and challenging situations related to flight restrictions. At these times we remembered again that airlines have to adapt their operations to changing situations in the industry. What makes you optimistic about air cargo growth in Europe? Passenger capacity is swiftly restoring itself after the pandemic. More capacity means we will be able to reach more customers and cargo. Some product groups that have moved away from air cargo will be returning. All of these are very promising for the air cargo industry. If past experience is anything to go by, what is certain is that the industry will rise to the challenge it now faces. On the other hand, as of February 7, we are now fully settled into our new SMARTIST facility, which features cutting-edge warehousing technologies. When all phases are completed, it will offer 4 million tonnes of annual cargo handling capacity. The facility, equipped with smart technologies
such as automatic storage systems and robotic process automation will take the unique Turkish Cargo service much further in respect of operational speed and quality. In the future SMARTIST will continue its development with augmented reality and unmanned ground vehicles. The mega facility will also highlight the intercontinental location of Istanbul and serve as an excellent gateway between East and the West. It will ensure that Istanbul becomes the logistics centre of the world by directing a major portion of global air cargo traffic to the new hub at Istanbul Airport.
How would you gauge market confidence in Europe? As the pandemic gets more under control, development of passenger demand in some markets will allow an increase in cargo capacity and thus contribute to the overall traffic positively. What are TK’s focus markets on the continent and why? Turkish Cargo has traditionally provided strong capacity in the UK, France and, especially, Germany and its periphery, both for export and import. Apart from this, Turkish Cargo provides freighter services to more niche markets such as the Baltic, Nordic, Balkan and Eastern European countries.
We continue to provide freighter service to some destinations in Europe where no one else flies with freighters. As a result, this allows us to provide a much faster and higher quality service without the need for truck connections. What is TK’s growth strategy in Europe? Turkish Cargo has made a difference in responding to the needs of the market through technology, efficiency and reliability. The carrier has a fleet of 20 freighters and supports this with belly and pax-freighter flights to meet increasing demand. During the pandemic, there was huge demand for medical supplies and Turkish Cargo transported medicines, masks, medical equipment, Covid-19 vaccines and humanitarian aid all over the world with care and reliability. Turkish Cargo has played a major role in maintaining critical air connections and created a pharma and medical corridor to over 400 stations to important and certified destinations. Turkish Cargo has been operating in major markets in Europe and aims to provide enhanced quality of service totally meeting the needs of its customers and industry partners; offering efficient, competitive and high-end operations via its new hub at Istanbul Airport. It has been building a global air bridge around the world via Istanbul Airport, which is at the crossroads of continents and positions Istanbul as a gateway to the world.
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