Saudi Arabian Airlines’ SAL Saudi Logistics Services arm has opened an extension of its Jeddah Station. The new extension spans over 656,6000sq ft (61,000sq m) for medical and food cold chain services, dangerous cargo and valuable cargo. The extension is expected to increase SAL’s annual cargo capacity in Jeddah to over 800,000 tons by 2030.
It forms part of a programme to transform the Kingdom into a global logistics hub and create investment opportunities.
Saudia Cargo has signed a sponsorship agreement with the Kingdom’s first female accredited rally driver, Mashael AlObaidan – little more than four years after the country joined the rest of the world in allowing women to drive on public roads.
The 33-year-old driver will take part in Rally Dakar in 2022, as not only the first Saudi but the first Arab female participant.
Mashael aspires to lead a new generation of female rally racers in the Middle East, and represent women empowerment across motorsports in Saudi Arabia.
Saudia Cargo chief executive Teddy Zebitz, said: “It is important to recognize the shared values and attributes between rally drivers and Saudia Cargo, where both face challenging routes, undergo long-haul races, and recognize the necessity of overcoming obstacles with great elegance under pressure.”
Emirates SkyCargo has flown more than 600 million doses of the Covid 19 vaccine since October 2020, from 35 origins to over 80 destinations. Divisional senior vice president, Nabil Sultan, said that that nearly two thirds of them were headed to destinations in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, with North America and Europe the main origin regions.
With the increasing roll-out of vaccination and booster campaigns, the carrier witnessed a steady increase in demand for the vaccines in the second half of 2021. In October and November 2021 alone, it moved more than 200 million doses, almost one third of the total transported by the carrier since the start of the pandemic.
FedEx Express has completed an expansion of its air cargo hub at Miami International Airport. It will increase capacity and capabilities at the company’s Americas gateway, which connects the US and Canada to Latin America and the Caribbean.
The $72.2 million expansion adds more than 138,000sq ft to the main sort facility, bringing it to over 282,000sq ft. The enhancements include a new customs clearance area and a new 70,000sq ft cold chain facility, the largest in the FedEx global network, comprising multiple rooms ranging from -13 °F to 77°F for perishables and pharmaceuticals.
FedEx shipping volume through Miami-Dade County grew by 30.9% between 2019 and 2020.
Dietmar Focke, currently vice president engine services at aircraft maintenance operator Lufthansa Technik, has been appointed chief operations and human resources officer at Lufthansa Cargo. He succeeds Harald Gloy, who is leaving the company at his own request.
Russian’s largest online marketplace, Wildberries, has chosen AirBridgeCargo Airlines, part of Volga-Dnepr Group to speed up deliveries to consumers in the remote far east of the country. The first joint charter flight took place in early December carrying 1,700 parcels weighing 33,500kg from Moscow to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk aboard a Boeing 747-8F.
Huntsville International Airport in Alabama has reopened its second, west, runway after a year-long renovation scheme. The multimillion-dollar included resurfacing of the 25-year-old west runway pavement and replacement of decades-old incandescent lighting.
Runway 18R/36L is 12,600 feet long and is the second longest in the Southeast US, able to accommodate aircraft up to the Boeing 747-8F and Airbus A-380 size.
Port of Huntsville chief executive Rick Tucker said it would help the gateway prepare for growth in cargo and passenger flights, adding: “It’s a matter of pride for us to be able to offer superior facilities and capabilities to our customers rivalling much larger airports yet with the convenience and personal touch we can offer as a smaller market.”
SEKO Logistics is partnering with retail services client Buyer Connected to launch a logistics training program to create employment opportunities for previously incarcerated men and women in Atlanta, Georgia.
Part of the not-for-profit City of Refuge initiative, it aims to support individuals and families in one of country’s most struggling neighborhoods.
As well as offering food, housing, and emergency healthcare support, City of Refuge’s Reentry Hub provides opportunities to learn new skills through education, job training and financial literacy.
Starting in January 2022, the new logistics training program will help recently released, non-violent offenders to re-enter the workplace and begin successful careers. The two partners will provide training support for nearly 250 individuals who are transitioning from prison to the community. The two-week training program will host groups of up to 20 people per month and equip participants with the necessary skills to fulfill roles in the ever-growing logistics industry including warehouse management, forklift and health and safety certification.
SEKO is participating in the program as part of its SEKO Cares initiative, which throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has also purchased and distributed PPE supplies to frontline healthcare workers in the US and other countries within SEKO’s global network.
The program to help detainees begins 18 months before their release. Case workers determine the individuals in a strong position to succeed, and who will be committed to the program and the opportunity it offers.
UPS says it has now delivered a billion Covid-19 vaccine doses – and with near-perfect on-time accuracy in just a year.
The global UPS network and dedicated UPS employees not only supported healthcare customers and global organizations, but also joined in public-private partnerships to provide vaccines and cold chain expertise to countries with hard-to-reach populations. To achieve this, UPS Healthcare mapped roughly 500 trade lanes to enable seamless worldwide vaccine shipments and used more than 3m lbs of dry ice to help safely move vaccines.
The carrier donated ultra-cold freezer and made in-kind vaccine deliveries to remote and rural areas throughout Africa, South America, Asia, North America, and Europe through the UPS Foundation.
It set up three regional 24-hour UPS Healthcare Command Centers to predict and manage global vaccine movement with contingency plans and solutions to mitigate the risks of extreme weather and other obstacles
It also partnered with the Gavi vaccine alliance in Africa and other organizations to train and manage ultra-cold vaccine movement and embedded UPS logistic experts in countries including Indonesia and Malawi to fully and safely manage vaccine distribution logistics.
It also delivered vaccines by drone to clinics in the US and Africa through the partnership between specialist delivery company Zipline and Gavi
Chief sales and solutions officer and executive vice president, UPS Global Healthcare Kate Gutmann, declared: “UPSers have been essential in the fight against Covid-19, delivering equitable access to critical healthcare services. This milestone would not have been possible without every person in our global network working tirelessly, alongside our partners and customers, to accelerate vaccine distribution and help keep communities as safe as possible.”
Bahrain-headquartered air cargo agent carrier Sky Bridge Cargo has adopted Awery’s latest software platform for its complete operating system, following a two week implementation programme. It streamlines sales, operations, and finance functions, as well as supporting bookings, artificial intelligence to automate previously manual tasks.
(Pictured: Awery Aviation Software chief executive Vitaly Smilianets (left) with Abdulnasser AlSaei, managing director of Sky Bridge Cargo)
