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Activists call for end to monkey flights

By
Chris Lewis
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Animal protection organisation Action for Primates has called on Spanish holiday charter airline, Wamos Air, to immediately stop transporting monkeys for research laboratories following the deaths this week of several on board its flight from Cambodia to the US.
On Sunday 14 November a consignment of 720 long-tailed macaques was discovered on Flight EB998 from Cambodia to Houston confined inside small transit crates for a flight of 24 hours and a six hour stop-over in Tbilisi, Georgia – in addition to several hours spent in transit to and from the airports.

In recent months, animal protection groups Action for Primates (UK), One Voice (France) and Stop Camarles (Spain) have spearheaded a campaign across Europe calling on Wamos Air to stop transporting monkeys after discovering the Madrid-based airline was flying thousands of monkeys to the US for research.

Co-founder of Action for Primates, Sarah Kite, stated: ”This tragedy exposes the shocking reality of the suffering inherent in the transportation of these intelligent and sentient beings. It is simply not possible to confine non-human primates to small crates, away from familiar surroundings, and transport them on long journeys across the world without causing considerable distress. It is time for Wamos Air to join the long list of airlines that now refuse to be a part of the cruel global trade in monkeys for research.”

The long-tailed macaque is the most heavily traded primate species for the global research and testing industry, with the US being one of the world’s largest importers. In 2020, imports of long-tailed macaques from Cambodia by the US increased by 82.8% to 15,664 animala. Wamos Air, formerly Pullmantur Air, primarily operates passenger charter flights to holiday destinations and is a subsidiary of the Miami-based Royal Caribbean Group.

Turkish Cargo signs Unilode ULD repair deal

By
Chris Lewis
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Turkish Cargo has appointed Unilode Aviation Solutions to maintain and repair its ULD fleet under a three-year agreement.

Unilode will repair Turkish Cargo’s standard and heavy-duty pallets, pallet nets, cargo and special containers at 22 locations at its EASA and FAA-certified repair network in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas, complementing Turkish Airlines’ in-house repairs in Istanbul.

Vural Ursavas, senior vice president of cargo operations at the carrier, said it would give higher availability and better utilisation of assets while ensuring consistent quality and repair compliance.  

Hactl is Hong Kong cargo central

By
Chris Lewis
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Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) has opened a new Integrated Hactl Control Centre (iHCC), creating a 24-hour single command point.

It centralises operations control, systems control and maintenance control for the first time, with duty managers monitoring the entire SuperTerminal 1 facility – from traffic management at its truck parks through the many different functional areas of the terminal, to airside cargo dispatch.

Monitoring and control was previously decentralised to individual departments, which created a time lag in data collection and sharing.

The iHCC provides comprehensive real time data, and workload forecasts for the coming eight hours, enabling instant adjustments to be made to staffing and resources to cope with any unexpected workload peaks.

It also serves as a fully-integrated emergency centre to ensure effective decision-making and proactive responses to crises.

Hactl’s self-developed cargo management system connects all stakeholders such as government bodies, airlines and freighter forwarders, and processes around a million data transactions a day. There is also a comprehensive 3D Schematic Display System, which graphically shows the position of all cargo and equipment in the terminal’s cargo handling systems; clicking on any ULD or box displays its details and status.

The iHCC is equipped with a CCTV monitoring system covering all 1000+ cameras located throughout the terminal and a flight tracking system assists in predicting aircraft arrivals, and a unit-building monitoring system shows the progress of building and breakdown of units at the terminal’s 466 workstations. AI-based workload forecasting assists managers in making more informed and consistent decisions.

The centre is already proving its value is dealing with the problem of empty containers taking up storage locations in Hactl’s container storage system, due to severely-reduced passenger flight frequencies. Real time data allows the duty manager to make decisions ahead of time.

The big chill

By
Chris Lewis
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Cold chain airfreight specialist Envirotainer has launched a CryoSure platform for pharmaceuticals requiring transport at -70oC.

Whereas most temperature-controlled pharmaceuticals have involved temperature ranges of 2–8°C and 15–25°C, many pharma products and biospecimen samples require below -70°C shipments. Moreover, many new cell and gene therapy, clinical development, other non-finished products as well as mRNA vaccines have to be transported below -70°C.

The CryoSure platform is based on Linde Seccurus technology and offers duration of up to three weeks.

New Emirates deal to deliver the goods

By
Chris Lewis
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Emirates SkyCargo signed a memorandum of understanding with Emirates Post Group at the Dubai Airshow to will work together to develop an e-commerce end-to-end global logistics platform serving the Middle East, Africa and West Asia.

The carrier says it will be the first partnership between an airline cargo carrier and a national postal operator and will combine the global network of Emirates SkyCargo with the last-mile delivery expertise and partnerships of EPG’s ‘Emirates Post’ business.

Nearly two thirds of the world’s population can be reached within an eight hour flight from Dubai, it adds.

Cathay cargo up by a fifth

By
Chris Lewis
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Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific carried 136,949 tonnes of cargo in October, an increase of 19.8% compared to October 2020, but a 25.2% decrease compared with the same period in 2019. The month’s cargo revenue tonne kilometres (RFTKs) rose 21% year-on-year, but was down 14.9% compared to October 2019. Load factor increased by 4 percentage points to 82.9%, while capacity, measured in available cargo tonne kilometres (AFTKs), was up by 15.2% year-on-year, but down 30.3% versus October 2019.

Handler on the rise in Pittsburg

By
Chris Lewis
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Miami-headquartered handler Alliance Ground International (AGI) is expanding its presence at Pittsburgh International Airport with new ramp and warehouse operations. It is also recruiting up to 40 new members of staff to operate services through a 25,000-square-foot facility currently operated by AGI sister company Cargo Force.

Pittsburg is equidistant between Chicago and New York giving access to two major markets within a short drive.

AGI recently announced the expansion of operations New York JFK as well as new facilities at Newark, and last month acquired Chicago-headquartered handler Maestro.

French air hub signs up to Cargospot

By
Chris Lewis
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Aéroport Paris-Vatry, a cargo and passenger gateway about 100 miles east for the French capital, has signed up to CHAMP’s Cargospot Handling solution. It will support the airport’s ground operations as well as introduce a range of mobile devices into its warehouse operation, with all data collected on the warehouse floor fed directly into the airport’s cargo management application.

Leaser to convert 13 more 737s to freighters

By
Chris Lewis
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Aircraft leaser Aero Capital Solutions says it has committed to convert an additional 13 Boeing 737-800SF to freighters.

The conversions will be carried out in conjunction with an STC (supplemental type certificate) provided by Aeronautical Engineers (AEI), and will add to the 21 aircraft that ACS has already committed for conversion.

The first of the additional aircraft will start modification with Commercial Jet in Miami in March 2023. The remaining 12 aircraft modifications will be distributed between Commercial Jet, KF Aerospace and HAECO Xiamen with work on the final aircraft starting in December 2023.

On completion, ACS’ total freighter portfolio will comprise of 34 Boeing 737-800SF aircraft.

Founder and chief executive Jason Barany, said: “Air cargo demand remains strong, even as we emerge from Covid, driven by factors including a long term upward shift in consumer e-commerce use. Our growing fleet of efficient narrowbody freighters has been created to meet the rapidly expanding needs of cargo operators and express carriers.”

Six more 777Fs to join Emirates SkyCargo

By
Chris Lewis
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Emirates SkyCargo says it will add two new Boeing 777Fs into its fleet in 2022 and also convert four of its Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft into freighters between 2023 and 2024.

The new aircraft will be delivered in April and June 2022 respectively.

The conversions will be carried out by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), starting in early 2023 and expected to conclude in 2024 with each aircraft taking up to an estimated five months for the process.

The agreement also includes an option for further Boeing 777-300ER conversions at a later stage.

The converted freighters will provide up to 10 additional pallet positions over the Boeing 777-F production freighter allowing for transport of more low density cargo. The converted aircraft’s payload capabilities are very close to those of the Boeing 777-F production freighters and the twin-engine aircraft will be more efficient per tonne of cargo carried than standard freighters, said Emirates.

Emirates Group chairman and chief executive, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said: “We are delighted to announce an investment of AED 3.6 billion (US$ 1 billion) to further expand our freighter capacity. This underscores our commitment to supporting our customers’ requirements, and reflects our confidence in our future growth and status as one of the largest airline cargo carriers in the world.”

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