SATS and its wholly-owned subsidiary Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), have created a new unified global visual identity to reflect their integration, 18-months after SATS completed the acquisition of WFS. The WFS brand name will be retained in the Americas and EMEAA region, however. The new look will be rolled out in phases over the next three years and will eventually appear on SATS’ and WFS’ uniforms, airport vehicles, and infrastructure such as warehouses acros 215 stations in 27 countries.
Portugal’s TAP restarts Manaus flights
Portugal’s TAP restarts Manaus flights TAP Air Portugal has resumed three-days-a-week services from Lisbon to Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas with the first flight arriving at Eduardo Gomes International Airport on 4 November operated by an A321 neo aircraft. The service operates via Belém. The Portuguese carrier also flies from Lisbon to São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belém, Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Fortaleza, Natal, Maceió, Porto Alegre, Recife, Salvador and Florianópolis and from Porto to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
More stations for Menzies’ MACH system
Menzies Aviation has extended its partnership with technology services and consulting company Wipro to roll-out the Menzies Aviation Cargo Handling (MACH) cargo management system to 28 new stations in 2025.
MACH has already been deployed at 24 locations across four continents, with a further 13 airports on track to go live over the coming months.
Since its launch in November 2023, the new cargo management system has been introduced at locations including Dallas Fort Worth, Auckland and Johannesburg OR. Tambo and has managed more than 150,000 tonnes of cargo. It will ultimately be used by more than 3,000 end users, with over 600 Menzies employees now trained to use the system.
Menzies says it improves data accuracy as all electronic information is populated automatically across the system.
Air cargo fires ‘were dry run for plane attacks by Russia’
Parcel fires in courier packages in the UK, Poland and Germany in July were dry runs aimed at attacking flights to North America, the BBC is reporting, citing Polish prosecutors.
According to the report, Western security officials have now told US media they believe the fires were part of a campaign by Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency.
The incidents prompted the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Transport Canada to implement emergency measures on air cargo from Europe on 13 September. Under the new rules, most cargo originating from Europe can only be transported on passenger aircraft where it is tendered by a Known Consignor or a shipper with an “established business relationship” with a regulated agent such as a freight forwarder or air carrier.
Four people have also been arrested in connection with the incidents.
The BBC said that Russia had denied being behind acts of sabotage but is suspected to have been behind other attacks on warehouses and railway networks in EU member states this year, including in Sweden and in the Czech Republic.
Polish prosecutor Ms Katarzyna Calow-Jaszewska was reported as saying that a group of foreign intelligence saboteurs had been involved in sending parcels containing hidden explosives and dangerous materials via courier companies. The fires broke out in a container due to be loaded on to a DHL freighter at Leipzig, at a transport company near Warsaw, and at Minworth near Birmingham. The head of Germany’s BfV domestic intelligence agency was reported as saying it was only by a stroke of fortune that the Leipzig device had not ignited in mid-air.
According to Western officials the fires originated in electric massage machines containing a magnesium-based substance. Magnesium-based fires are hard to put out.
“The group’s goal was also to test the transfer channel for such parcels, which were ultimately to be sent to the US and Canada,” Ms Calow-Jaszewska said.
Turkish to start Santiago flights
Turkish Airlines is to start passenger A350-900 flights from Istanbul to Santiago, Chile, from December 18. They will operate four times a week, via São Paulo in Brazil.
SpeedX owner buys Accelerated Global Solutions
Chris Zheng, founder and chief executive of last-mile delivery specialist SpeedX has acquired New York City headquartered, Accelerated Global Solutions, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition builds on a two-year collaboration between SpeedX and AGS, combining SpeedX’s last-mile delivery with AGS’s customs brokerage and freight forwarding services.
Both companies will continue to operate as separate, cooperating entities under their existing brands.
In his new role as president and chief executive of AGS, Zheng will build an integrated supply chain product suite.
SpeedX delivered its first parcel in November 2022 and now reaches over 9,000 zip codes and more than 150 million consumers across the US and CanadaIt expects to be delivering upwards of half a million parcels per day in 2025.
AGS operates warehouses and offices across North America, with key locations in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, San Francisco, Portland, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Toronto.
Antonov delivers satellite for space study
Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines and Ceva Logistics have delivered the Hera satellite from the European Space Agency to the NASA shuttle facility in Titusville in the US. The 40-tonne consignment was carried on one of the operator’s An124 aircraft and included the 1.13 tonne satellite which is being used to study the composition of asteroids.
US canine screener buys UK’s Dog Detectives
US air cargo screening company Global K9 Protection Group is to acquire UK canine screener, Dog Detectives. Based near Chester, Dog Detectives was founded by David Jones 24 years ago. His son, Andrew Jones will become director at GK9PG.
GK9PG provides canine screening services in 660 facilities in 162 cities across the US and the Dog Detectives acquisition its step into the European market.
GK9PG chief operating officer, Roland Beason, said: “We are looking forward to working with Dog Detectives’ experienced staff, and leveraging their 25-year track record of providing excellent screening services. This acquisition kick-starts GK9PG’s international expansion plans, building on our strong presence across the US.”
Andrew Junes added: “GK9PG is one of the world’s largest canine screening providers and the acquisition agreement marks a new chapter for Dog Detectives,” said Jones. “Dog Detectives was founded by my father, David, and over the past 25 years, we have been proud to build it into the trusted operation it is today. By combining our expertise, we are well positioned to continue delivering effective screening solutions for the years to come.”
FedEx opens state-of-the-art sort facility
FedEx Corporation has opened an automated sorting facility at its Memphis World Hub. The LEED Certified building, which is now fully operational ahead of the holiday peak season, spans 1.3 million square feet across four levels, includes11 miles of conveyor belt, has dedicated space for bulky, non-conveyable shipments, and can sort 56,000 packages per hour.
Its technology includes six-sided scanning, which allows for packages to be scanned on all sides to capture size and barcode information for accuracy and includes new weighing and dimensioning systems and is equipped with 1,000 cameras to monitor the flow of packages.
It also allows packages to be sorted in one building during bad weather.
Memphis is the largest sort facility in the FedEx global network, with 13,000 team members, spanning 940 acres with 171 aircraft gates and 84 miles of conveyor belt.
American Airlines rescues last tiger in Mendoza
American Airlines Cargo has relocated 16-year-old Bengal tiger Lucy from an Eco Park in Mendoza, Argentina to The Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone, Minnesota. The former Mendoza Zoo is being turned into an Eco Park and its animal residents are being moved to sanctuaries where they can begin new lives with their peers.
Lucy’s journey began with a 750-mile truck ride covering from Mendoza to Ezeiza Airport (EZE) in Buenos Aires for the B787-8 flight to New York JFK. There followed a final 1,200-mile onward drive to Minnesota.
Everything was coordinated with Intermodal, the forwarder designated by the Mendoza Ministry of Energy and Environment, and American Airlines Cargo.
The Wildcat Sanctuary provides a natural habitat for wild cats in need of a home and has already accepted two lions from Mendoza in 2018.
The process of arranging Lucy’s transport involved three years of securing permits, navigating ever-tightening jurisdictions, and securing funding. Tragically, during this time, her companion tiger Violeta passed away, making staff even more determined to get Lucy to Minnesota.