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We’re back to normal after Covid, says Hactl

Chris Lewis
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We’re back to normal after Covid, says Hactl

Hong Kong handler Hactl says it has returned to full manning and normal operations, following the reported Covid case at its ramp handling team on 7 October, which led to quarantine rules being imposed by theCentre for Health Protection.

All quarantined staff subsequently tested negative, and have now been released from the quarantine centre.

The manpower shortage resulting from the quarantine affected around 20% of flights but – despite the additional impact on all airport operations of two typhoons on 9 and 13 October – the situation was progressively brought under control through increased overtime, re-scheduling of some flights, re-deployment of other ramp-trained Hactl staff and subcontracting of some duties to other operators.

Less than 5% of Hactl’s workforce were affected, and over 80% of flights were handled within normal timeframes. There is no truth in some reports of two-three day delays, it added.

The company has introduced further measures to increase resilience including installation of 120 sanitization devices with more on order, provision of two robots for disinfection of common areas, additional cleaning staff, more frequent cleansing and sanitisation of common areas and extra PPE to staff members handling inbound cargoes from high-risk areas.

Quicker connections at Air Canada

Chris Lewis
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Quicker connections at Air Canada

Air Canada Cargo says its customers can now connect directly and more conveniently through its new Application Programming Interface (API) solution. API will streamline manual interactions such as quoting, booking, scheduling, and track and trace requests and connect different systems and processes to offer an enhanced booking flow. It will reduce the amount of time taken to complete a booking or AWB.

US carriers increase London links

Chris Lewis
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US carriers increase London links

American Airlines Cargo will offer services from London Heathrow to nine US cities from November in its winter schedule. It will operate double daily to New York JFK, and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and daily to Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia Chicago and Charlotte .

There will also be a special limited-time service in November between Frankfurt and important production and consumption centers in the US South East.

Sales Director for the EMEA and  APAC regions Tim Isik, said capacity has proved to be very tight over the last eighteen months, adding: “We have really strong demand for all kinds of cargo including automotive parts, perishables like fresh salmon and flowers, and life science products like pharmaceuticals. Our European customers are continuing to take advantage of our extensive trucking network into the UK from where they can take advantage of our growing number of options for direct flights to our critical markets in the US.”

All routes will be operated using Boeing 777-200, Boeing 777-300 or Boeing 787-9 aircraft.

United Airlines has also announced plans to increase its London flights in the spring.

It will offer a total of 22 flights per day to London from March 2022, more than any other U. carrier, it said.

The expansion includes two more flights from New York/Newark, a resumption of daily flights from Denver, second daily flight operated by a Boeing 787-9, additional trips from Denver, an all-new direct 767-300ER flight from Boston.

United currently operates seven flights to Heathrow from the US; two daily from New York/Newark and Washington DC and one daily flight from Chicago, Houston, and San Francisco. In December, service will increase to 10 daily flights, with additional flights from New York/Newark and Chicago.

Vaccines for Uganda

Chris Lewis
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Vaccines for Uganda

Ceva Logistics moved 700,000 doses of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine from Beijing to Entebbe International Airport for the Ugandan Ministry of Health under its Forpatients healthcare scheme. The product required a temperature of between 2 to 8°C throughout transport and storage. Ceva said its team responded quickly to provide a solution for the 21 pallets of vaccines in a challenging spot airfreight market.

Executive vice president of Ceva’s global healthcare sector, Niels Van Namen, said: “Our healthcare customers, like the Ugandan Ministry of Health, are looking for transport options that keep the end patient in mind. Individuals receiving Covid vaccinations should not have to worry about the reliability of their dose. That’s our job, which is why behind every shipment, we see a patient.”

WFS ditches plastic in landfill

Chris Lewis
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WFS ditches plastic in landfill

Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) says it has reduced the amount of plastic languishing in landfill by 616,885kg -the equivalent of 68 million disposable water bottles – in just 12 months after converting to using biodegradable stretch wrap for cargo shipments.

Regular plastic can take 1,000 years to biodegrade in a landfill. However, the BioNatur biodegradable plastics it is using will disappear from landfill in only 5-10 , it says.

WFS converted the majority of the plastic used in its North America cargo handling business over to the BioNatur products launched by M&G Packaging. BioNatur Plastic i products are manufactured with a small amount of organic, food-safe additive that allows anaerobic bacteria to digest the plastic in landfill. Outside landfill it has an indefinite shelf life and performs exactly like traditional plastic products.

Hermes offers easier access to flight data

Chris Lewis
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Hermes offers easier access to flight data

Hermes Logistics Technologies (HLT) has re-engineered the user interface for its import flight planner to give customers a more streamlined view of their operational data.

HLT’s new Import Flight Handling Solution combines data and functionality from the previously separate Pre-Flight and Flight Monitors without having to open separate windows.

Users can simultaneously view air waybill (AWB) and unit load device (ULD) data, and access functions such as Service Management & Recovery, without the need to switch back and forth between screens.

Product manager, James Plested, said: “Our aim was to provide the user with as much detail as possible whilst reducing the number of interactions required to view and manage the data. The result is a drastically improved ability to prepare and monitor complex flight data, allowing users to work, review, and complete tasks far quicker than before.”

Five more months for carbon-free freighters

Chris Lewis
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Five more months for carbon-free freighters

DB Schenker and Lufthansa Cargo will extend their weekly CO2-free freighter flights between Frankfurt and Shanghai through the winter schedule until March 2022 and has signed up phone maker Nokia to the initiative.

The partners say the flights are the only ones in the world that use Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) exclusively. The fuel is produced from renewable waste, such as used cooking oils.

Over the next five months, Nokia will ship 10 tons of communications network equipment a week from a production facility in Shanghai to its European hub in Tilburg in the Netherlands.

The CO2 released during combustion in the engine is only the CO2 which was removed from the atmosphere during the photosynthesis phase of the plants used to produce the oils. However, SAF is currently around three times more expensive than conventional fossil kerosene. In the future, other types of renewable fuels will also be available including power-to-liquid fuels (PtL) based on renewable electricity, water, and CO2.

The SAF used for the flights is produced by Finnish firm Neste which is will increase its production to 1.5 million tons a year by the end of 2023.

Air Partner moves 30 million vaccines in four months

Chris Lewis
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Air Partner moves 30 million vaccines in four months

The freight team at Air Partner, say they have transported over 30 million Covid vaccines across the world since July. To date, the broker has arranged over 40 dedicated charter flights to 15 countries across four continents.

As well as moving finished vaccines and vaccine raw materials, the freight team has also flown large volumes of PPE from Asia to the UK, Europe and US.

Group chief executive Mark Briffa, said: “The value of our Freight offering has never been clearer than during the global pandemic, when we have been able to provide quick, reliable and effective support to customers needing to transport critical goods, such as PPE and vaccines, around the world. The Freight team continues to be exceptionally busy, and we are pleased that we can play this important role at such a pivotal time in the global recovery.”

DHL takes its tech on the road

Chris Lewis
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DHL takes its tech on the road

The logistics world is on the cusp of some exciting new technology including printable ‘smart’ labels with GPS-type functionality that could eliminate barcode scanning, vision-based monitoring systems and low-cost remote connectivity for oceans and deserts, said a DHL expert.
Speaking at the unveiling of a new DHL’s mobile tech center for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) in Dubai South on 27 October, head of innovation and, commercial Matthius Heutger said that analytics and robotics were also poised to bring huge advances to the industry.
The Mobile Middle East and Africa (MEA) Innovation Center will spearhead the development of logistics innovation in the MEA region, with a focus on trends in IoT and Data Analytics. Although it will offer the same facilities as DHL’s similar existing centres in Chicgo, Cologne and Singapore, the MEA centre is designed to be dismantled and packed into standard ISO shipping containers, so it can be moved to different countries in the region. Following its unveiling in Dubai, it is set to go on a tour of countries throughout the Middle East and Africa.
It will offer 450sq m to showcase the technical developments that DHL is currently working on and that it believes will revolutionise the supply chain in the near future. The Center will present a collaborative platform for customers, partners and other thought leaders to solve complex logistics challenges, learn about the latest trends and network with industry innovators across the MEA region.
Exhibits in the center will reflect the unique requirements of DHL’s customers in the region, with a focus on internet of things, artificial intelligence, robotics, bionic enhancement and data analytics.
The facility is expected to stay in Dubai until 2022, then move to Qatar, the next location on its journey across the MEA region, and is expected to continue its journey through to 2027.

Drones could deliver lower CO2 emissions, says report

Chris Lewis
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0
Drones could deliver lower CO2 emissions, says report

Commercial drones have the potential to cut CO2 emissions for freight deliveries by half, says a report byInmarsat and Cranfield University(‘UAVs: Unlocking positive transformation in the world – UAVs: Unlocking positive transformation in the world – Inmarsat).

Cranfield used its own modelling and primary data resources to compare the CO2 emissions omitted by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and small light commercial vehicles (LCVs). The results found a significant reduction in CO2 emissions produced when using UAVs for freight delivery. 

An LCV delivering 10 similar sized packages per eight-hour shift over a 5km delivery radius, and following a regular schedule of consecutive deliveries produce 3,394 grams per 24 hours; a large UAV with a 50kg payload operating in the same delivery protocol produced only 1,800g of emissions per 24 hours while a medium-sized UAV carrying a 5kg payload and making separate individual journeys from the central warehouse rather than consecutive deliveries, produced 2,160g.

The report also explored non-commercial benefits of UAVs such as delivering humanitarian and medical aid to remote communities and conflict zones, surveillance to protect endangered animals from poachers and monitoring illegal deforestation or mining operations.

Cranfield’s pro-vice-chancellor of the School of Aerospace, Transport and Manufacturing, Professor Dame Helen Atkinson, said: “Commercial UAVs have the potential to transform our world in a range of safe and environmentally friendly ways. This report is an important step in harnessing the power of UAVs and unlocking the opportunities they offer to advance air transport activities and services with fast and efficient delivery of goods.”

Over the next seven years, the commercial UAV market is projected to increase from $2.32 billion in 2021 to $11.29 billion in 2028. However, there are still regulatory challenges in allowing UAVs to fly beyond visual line of sight and integrate with other air traffic, as well as the need for well-structured regulation.

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