SkyTeam Cargo celebrates 25 years in the air

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September 29, 2025

SkyTeam Cargo celebrated its 25th anniversary on 28 September 2025, marking a quarter century as the world’s only global airline cargo alliance.

It was established in Washington DC in 2000 by four founding airlines: Aeromexico Cargo, Air France Cargo, Delta Cargo and Korean Air Cargo. Today, it connects over 850 destinations across over 150 countries with a fleet of more than 2,500 aircraft and offers Express, General, Specialized and Customized product lines.

SkyTeam Cargo is now focused on digital transformation to create a seamless shipping experience through the development of shared technology.

SkyTeam chief executive, Patrick Roux, said: “We remain proud to be the world’s only airline cargo alliance, now expanded to serve hundreds of destinations. From the beginning, SkyTeam Cargo was built on customer focus and global airline collaboration–like our passenger operations. Those values remain our guiding star as we look ahead and continue to innovate for the future.”

Still no substitute for the 747, says Magma Aviation

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Chris Lewis

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September 26, 2025

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Avia Solutions Group’s Magma Aviation has added a B747F freighter to its fleet in response to growing demand. The operator, headquartered in Dublin and with operating hubs in Dubai and Gatwick says that while new designs of aircraft are available, the B747F still stands out as one of the most formidable aircraft ever introduced in the air cargo industry with its ability to carry over 100 tons per flight. this gives Magma an added advantage to handle a wide variety of sensitive and specialized cargo types.

Qatar app puts customers in control

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Chris Lewis

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September 25, 2025

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Qatar Airways Cargo has revamped its QR Cargo Mobile App to allow customers to carry out a range of processes and get more control of their shipments. It includes cargo booking, real time shipment tracking flight schedules, quotes, notifications, uploads of digital documents such as e-AWBs, notifications and alerts and support services.

IAG offers new-style cold containers

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Chris Lewis

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September 25, 2025

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IAG Cargo is offering SkyCell 1500X containers under its cold chain Constant Climate service for delicate pharmaceuticals. They reduce CO2 emissions thanks to their low weight and offer up to 270 hours of independent runtime, which can be extended in cold rooms or reefer trucks in the face of extreme weather or unexpected delays.

United signs CargoAi deal

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Chris Lewis

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September 24, 2025

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United Cargo has signed a partnership with airfreight digital enabler CargoAi. The carrier’s domestic and international capacity is now accessible on CargoAi’s digital platform, giving freight forwarders access to real-time rates and an eBooking process. The integration covers general cargo express, and perishables without temperature control in markets including the US, (including domestic services), Canada, UK, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Italy.

SolitAir moves into Africa

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Chris Lewis

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September 24, 2025

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UAE dedicated express cargo airline SolitAir is expanding its network based at its Dubai World Central hub into Africa with destinations including Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Eldoret and Nairobi in Kenya, Benghazi in Libya, Johannesburg, Lusaka and Harare.

Earlier, the carrier signed an agreement with World Star Aviation for two Boeing 737-800 freighter aircraft, the first of which was delivered earlier this month and the second due to join the fleet in October.

SolitAir aims to have a fleet of 20 aircraft by 2027, connecting over 50 cities within a six-hour flight radius from Dubai, specialising in temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals, e-commerce and hazardous materials.   

Cathay to resume Seattle service

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Chris Lewis

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September 23, 2025

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Cathay Pacific is to relaunch services between Hong Kong and Seattle in April 2026, a route that has not operated since the beginning of the pandemic. It will be maintained five times a week by Airbus A350-900 aircraft. No other carrier currently flies direct between the two cities, Delta Air Lines having dropped the route in 2018.

Cathay’s service from Hong Kong to Dallas-Forth Worth, launched in April, will increase from four flights a week to daily flights from October 26.

Airfreight tracking gets smart

By

Chris Lewis

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September 23, 2025

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Etihad Cargo has officially launched SmartTrack premium real-time shipment visibility service. Unveiled earlier this year at Air Cargo Europe 2025 in Munich, SmartTrack it is now available to customers worldwide through the Etihad Cargo website.

SmartTrack delivers live location updates and condition monitoring using cellular, GPS and Wi-Fi connectivitywith instant alerts on temperature, humidity, shock, tilt and light events. It has also introduced a dedicated 24/7 SmartTrack Control Centre, providing live case tracking, severity-based alert prioritisation, and actionable workflows for real-time intervention, repair and resolution.

A new customer dashboard offers a single, intuitive interface for shipment monitoring. Accessible via secure single sign-on across mobile and web platforms. Users can track shipments in real time by AWB, origin, destination or product type, monitor live sensor data and receive proactive SLA notifications, access custody chain insights g pre- and post-Etihad Cargo handling and receive instant alerts on milestone delays, geofence violations and temperature excursions.

Cargolux handler to go digital with IBS

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Chris Lewis

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September 23, 2025

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Luxcargo Handling, a subsidiary of European all-cargo airline Cargolux has partnered with IBS Software to streamline its ground handling operations. It will implement iCargo CTO (Cargo Terminal Operations) to update legacy systems including barcode scanners with real time data capture. It will also benefit from accelerated adoption of paperless processes and digitised workflows through mobiles. It will also serve as a foundation for adoption of new industry standards like Cargo One Record.

DHL Post to restart shipments to US

By

Chris Lewis

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September 23, 2025

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The Post & Parcel Germany division of DHL Group says it is one of the first service providers to resume shipments from Germany to the US for business customers. Four weeks ago Deutsche Post/DHL and many other postal service providers had to suspend this type of shipping to the country due to the suspension of De Minimis duty concessions.

The service will restart on 25 September.

DHL says this is made possible by the ‘Postal Delivered Duty Paid’ (PDDP) service, which it previously offered only for goods shipping to Norway, the UK, and Switzerland but which will now be extended to the US. It has also overhauled data collection, customs reporting, and payment of applicable customs fees to comply with the new customs regulations.

Business customers who wish to send goods valued up to and including $800 by post to the US should note that goods valued up to and including this amount have been subject to customs duties since 29 Augus. A duty-free threshold of $100 applies only to private gifts.

The PDDP service is mandatory for postal goods shipping via DHL, where the sender covers all import duties for their recipient customers in advance. Senders must provide complete and accurate customs data, particularly the customs tariff number and country of origin for each item.

The price for the PDDP service to the US is €2 per shipment and fees from the service provider – referred to as the “Qualified Party” – and the customs duties themselves will be passed on to business customers without any markup.

Packages from private individuals to private individuals with a value up to $100, declared as “gift,” are not affected by the new regulations. However, these shipments will be monitored more closely than before to prevent misuse.