Partners set out joint venture timetable

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June 3, 2025

IAG Cargo, Qatar Airways Cargo and MASKargo say they plan to launch their global cargo joint business in late 2025, subject to regulatory approvals, following their initial announcement in April.

The three carriers are working to progressively align systems, processes, and commercial offerings. They will look to optimise freighter and belly hold capacity across their combined networks, with coordinated ground handling and trucking.

At the same time, the three carriers will enter into individual agreements with the UN World Food Programme. They propose to provide a total of 1,000 tonnes of free tonnage to support WFP in the delivery of essential food supplies and commodities.

Geodis takes smart approach to cutting carbon

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Chris Lewis

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June 2, 2025

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Geodis has launched an AirSmart solution to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from air freight. The French forwarder says that by selecting the most energy-efficient aircraft and optimizing routing, it can significantly reduce by using external flight data and analytics tools to make smarter routing decisions. The emission savings are available to all customers through Geodis’ digital platforms.

Emirates to restore Syria flights

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Chris Lewis

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June 2, 2025

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Emirates is set to return to Damascus, Syria after a 13-year absence, from 16 July. The Dubai-based carrier will initially operate 777-200LR flights on Monday, Wednesday and Sunday, and plans to add a Saturday flight from 2 August.

CargoLand scheme would push Belgium’s Liege to number three spot in Europe

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Chris Lewis

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June 2, 2025

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On 2 June, Liège Airport announced a €500 million investment in what it described as its next generation hub, CargoLand.

The scheme, scheduled for full completion by 2040, would position the Belgian gateway in Europe’s top for cargo, compared with its current fifth place, it says.

CargoLand will see 90 hectares dedicated to logistics developments to attract more major global logistics players, and a further 24 hectares available for office development. Customers will also benefit from a 38,000sq m first line warehouse constructed to support long-term growth. This will be complemented by a 120,000sq m e-commerce and 180,000sq m landside warehouse. There will be 15 new parking stands ground support equipment and an aircraft maintenance hangar.

Head of commercial cargo and logistics, Frederic Brun, declared: “We’re adding magic to cargo handling with CargoLand and are confident that it will deliver beyond expectations. After all, we are within a one-day truck drive to 75% of European GDP centres, and we will be strengthening our links to rail, road, and sea, maximising on our unique geographical qualities. Seamless multimodal integration will play a major role in CargoLand.”

Gebrüder Weiss opens in Thailand

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Chris Lewis

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May 30, 2025

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Austrian forwarder Gebrüder Weiss will open a new country organization in Thailand on 1 June. The team of 20 employees in Bangkok provide international air and sea freight transportation, customs handling, and national and cross-border land transport services.

Gebrüder Weiss is now present in nine countries across the East and South-East Asia region and Oceania including Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam. Its regional network now spans 35 locations with around 800 employees.

Fraport supersizes Lima airport

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Chris Lewis

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May 30, 2025

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Lima Airport Partners, a subsidiary of German operator Fraport, has officially opened a new terminal at Lima’s Jorge Chávez International Airport. On the night of May 31 to June 1, airlines, government agencies, and partners will relocate from Lima’s old terminal. Opening was preceded by a two-week soft launch involving four airlines to ensure an efficient start of operations and operational stability.

The new terminal is three times bigger than the previous one and by the end of 2025 will be expanded further to cover 270,000sq m with a modular design, that can be increased to accommodate future growth.

The approximately US$2 billion expansion program that began in 2019 involved building both the terminal itself and infrastructure including a second runway, a new air traffic control tower and aircraft parking positions.

Hactl moves to stage 2 of fire detection system

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Chris Lewis

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May 30, 2025

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Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) has begun Phase 2 of implementing its intelligent thermal detection system at SuperTerminal 1.

Hactl – Hong Kong’s largest independent handler – started the project in December 2023. It enabled Hactl to scan cargo for exceptional temperatures before loading onto aircraft.

Under Phase 2, the handler is using the system to scan bulk cargo during cargo acceptance – providing a double layer of protection.

The intelligent cargo thermal detection system combines advanced thermal imaging, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, data analytics, and artificial intelligence, to overcome the limitations of existing thermal energy monitoring techniques.

It monitors the temperatures of different cargo in real-time, quickly identifying any abnormal conditions such as a fire hazard in lithium battery cargo, and thereby triggering alerts.

Hactl’s next step will implement the same level of scrutiny for export prepacked cargo at acceptance.

Could this be the future shape of airfreight?

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Chris Lewis

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May 30, 2025

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Swiss forwarding and logistics company Kuehne+Nagel is partnering with aerospace firm Natilus to develop a blended-wing-body freighter aircraft.

The San Diego-based company says that the design could reduce fuel consumption by 30% and increase payload by 40%.

The companies will assess how blended-wing-body aircraft will operate within existing fleets and reduce carbon emissions in freight forwarding. Kuehne+Nagel will focus on route modelling, environmental impact assessment, operational cost analysis and engagement with the aviation industry.

The new aircraft is one of a number of initiatives that it is pursuing to reduce the environmental and economic impact of air freight.

Natilus co-founder and chief executive, Aleksey Matyushev, said: “Our partnership with Kuehne+Nagel is a meaningful step in helping the industry better understand the powerful advantages of blended-wing-body aircraft, which will become a blueprint for other logistics companies over the next decade.

“We look forward to collaborating with Kuehne+Nagel and integrating our family of blended-wing-body aircraft into its world-class global logistics network to redefine efficiency and sustainability in freight.”

WFS wins Frankfurt e-commerce contract

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Chris Lewis

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May 30, 2025

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SATS Worldwide Flight Services’ Frankfurt Cargo Services (FCS) arm has won a contract with EDT-eDirect Transport to provide e-commerce and freight forwarder handling services at the German airport.

EDT is a global logistics platform specializing in cross-border e-commerce between China and Europe.

WFS already handles e-commerce for EDT at Paris CDG and Liege airports.

The new contract in Frankfurt coincides with FCS’ investment to expand its dedicated e-commerce handling facility at Germany’s biggest air logistics gateway by 300% to 2,000sqm. FCS will providing EDT with import space in its first line warehouse with direct ramp access to facilitate quick breakdown, sorting and delivery to the last mile transportation provider under agreed timings.

WestJet flies daily Calgary-Tokyo

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Chris Lewis

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May 27, 2025

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WestJet Cargo has expanded its transpacific capacity with daily year-round service between Calgary and Tokyo Narita. Operated by WestJet’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, each flight offers 22 tons and 80 cubic meters of capacity.

It complements WestJet’s daily year-round passenger service to Tokyo and its broadened codeshare with Japan Airlines, providing onward connectionns to Osaka and Nagoya.

Bookings on this route are available through WestJet Cargo’s digital partners—CargoAi, WebCargo, and Cargo.one.