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FedEx opens Slovakia site

By
Chris Lewis
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Federal Express has opened a facility in Košice, Slovakia, its second-largest in the country. It covers nearly 1,000sq m and features 18 pick-up and delivery docks and four flexible loading positions for both vans and long-haul trucks.
It allows FedEx to offer larger, palletized freight and connect directly to long-haul routes, local customers, in addition to standard shipments. Drivers now depart on average 45 minutes earlier each morning, while processing times for international shipments have been reduced by half.

The investment comes at a time when Slovak businesses are increasingly looking beyond domestic borders. According to a recent FedEx survey, 85% of Slovak SMEs already trading internationally plan to expand into additional markets, making Slovakia among the most internationally ambitious markets in Central and Eastern Europe.

CharterDesk completes first missions

By
Chris Lewis
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Hungary-based CharterDesk has completed its first two cargo charter operations since officially launching at the end of June in response to urgent requests from automotive and perishable cargo customers.

Both scenarios were the triggers for the two recent cargo charters, organised by CharterDesk. The first flight took place towards the end of June 2026, on behalf of a leading car manufacturer and an international integrator.

It booked an Airbus A321 freighter from BBN Airlines Türkiye from Cairo (CAI) to Istanbul carrying 11 tonnes of automotive parts destined for a factory in Turkey to avoid a production stop, arranging all permits and handling operations.

The second charter operation, arranged for a Turkish agent, took place on beginning of July 2026, was an MNG Airlines’ Airbus 330 freighter from Istanbul to Ouagadougou with 59 tonnes of perishable cargo requiring a temperature of +15-25°C. With a lack of fuel at the destination airport at the time of booking. CharterDesk reached out to its own fuelling contacts and assisted the airline in arranging fuel uplift in Burkina Faso.

UPS opens south Taiwan hub

By
Chris Lewis
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UPS has opened an operations center in Kaohsiung, doubling package processing capacity of in southern Taiwan.

UPS customers in these areas – which form a key part of the Taiwan government’s Greater Southern Silicon Valley strategy – can also now benefit from an up to three-hour extension in pickup cutoff times for exports to the US.

In March, UPS opened its largest logistics center in Asia Pacific, in Taoyuan.

Managing director of UPS Taiwan, Sam Hung, said: “Taiwan is a global hub for high tech innovation. In addition to the established industrial centers in the north, many companies are also now expanding in the south, especially in and around Kaohsiung. UPS is here to support this growth and ensure our customers have the global connectivity they need to build success for the long term.”

The US is Taiwan’s largest export market, accounting for over 32% of the total in the year-to-date May 2026.

Azul plans four-aircraft expansion

By
Chris Lewis
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Global GSA Group says it is preparing for Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras’ addition of four Airbus A321 freighters to its fleet. Brazilian carrier already operates over 800 domestic flights and handles more than 100,000 shipments per day.

It operates flights to Manaus, Belém, Santiago de Chile and Buenos Aires, while Montevideo and weekly flights from Campinas, via Viracopos Airport, to Lima are in the pipeline in the second half of 2026, using the new freighters.

Azul also operates charter flights for special projects, such as hatching eggs and audio equipment for touring bands.

Azul director, Izabel Reis, Director of said: “This freighter type offers the ideal versatility and size, allowing Azul to flex and offer market solutions where they are most needed. So, it was an easy decision to expand and modernize our fleet with an additional four Airbus 321 freighters, going forward. They will replace our Boeing 737 F, resulting in more sustainable operations and a significant boost to intra–Latin American capacity.”

DHL adds Bangkok-Cincinnati freighters

By
Chris Lewis
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DHL is to add three-times-weekly flights from Bangkok to Cincinnati. Widebody freighters will offer up to 100 tons per flight, complemented road feeders across the US.

It also provides access to DHL Global Forwarding’s Transpacific network through coverage in Vietnam (Hanoi) and Taiwan (Taipei).

The TransPac Connect service is part of DHL Global Forwarding’s broader controlled capacity strategy which includes weekly rotations across key hubs such as Frankfurt, Liège, Amsterdam, and Hong Kong.

Global head of air freight at DHL Global Forwarding, Henk Venema, said: “Southeast Asia continues to gain strategic importance as a manufacturing and sourcing region. With our new Bangkok-Cincinnati connection and broader Transpacific network coverage, we are offering customers not only speed and capacity, but also the reliability and control they need to build more resilient supply chains. Expanding our controlled air freight capacity is a key lever to help customers navigate volatility and respond to disruption more effectively.”

IAG to add third daily Delhi flight

By
Chris Lewis
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IAG Cargo will offer a third daily service between London Heathrow and Delhi from 19 September operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.

There will also be increased frequencies to Bengaluru bringing the total number of services to India to 70 a week, up from 56 in 2025.

Demand in the Delhi market has been particularly strong, with cargo volumes increasing 12.6% outbound and 14.4% inbound between January and May 2026 compared with the same period last year. The UK-India Free Trade Agreement, which came into force on 15 July, is expected to further support trade flows.

Connections are available via Heathrow to North America, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East.

Cathay puts off Mideast flights restart

By
Chris Lewis
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Cathay Cargo has postponed resumption of its freighter service to Riyadh originally planned for August 1. The carrier said it would review the timing for resuming the service. Resumption of daily passenger flights to Dubai and four-times-weekly passenger flights to Riyadh, originally planned for September 1, will be postponed to 25 October 2026 and 26 October 2026, respectively.

The move follows an outbreak of attacks in the Middle East Gulf.

American sets up Europe/US pharma corridor

By
Chris Lewis
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American Airlines Cargo has established a dedicated pharma corridor connecting European life sciences hubs in Amsterdam and Brussels with major US destinations via London Heathrow. It aligns with IATA CEIV Pharma and GDP standards, and will use American’s daily transatlantic flights from London to key US pharma hubs, including validated temperature-controlled trucking services operated in partnership with FlyUs Aviation Group and American’s ExpediteTC service.

The corridor brings together standardized processes for ground handling, transfer and air transport to ensure consistent temperature control and compliance.

The service supports defined temperature ranges of 2°C to 8°C and 15°C to 25°C in both directions.

ONE Record messages go live with Lufthansa and partners

By
Chris Lewis
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Lufthansa Cargo, WiseTech Global and IBS Software say they have exchanged shipment records to International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) ONE Record standards in a production environment, one of the first large-scale, multi-stakeholder implementations.

IATA introduced ONE Record in January 2026 to promote the transparent exchange of data between stakeholders, communities and data platforms and the three partners worked together to operationalize the new standard across stakeholders. It defines a common data model for cargo data shared via a standardized and secure API, offered as a free open-source solution and designed to ensure compliance with growing regulatory requirements.

WiseTech is the system provider used by many freight forwarders and IBS Software is Lufthansa Cargo’s system provider.

The key advantage of the new standard is that freight data can be checked and processed within a company’s own systems prior to transport while significantly more freight data and file formats can be exchanged than was previously possible, creating greater transparency down to individual shipment level.

The first use cases in the project involved processing data from Master Air Waybills (MAWB) using ONE Record to allow data for air cargo shipments to be shared and processed between freight forwarders and the airline. The shipment records were executed by a freight forwarder in WiseTech’s CargoWise platform at MAWB level and successfully received and processed in Lufthansa Cargo’s system via the IBS ONE Record server.

Lufthansa Cargo’s Head of Information Management Dr Jasmin Kaiser, said:: “Following several pilot projects, we are now ready to connect to customers and partners even faster and more efficiently at scale. Furthermore, this seamless data exchange lays the foundation for introducing further digital benefits and AI-powered services.”

Senior Product Manager at WiseTech Global, Elias Hatzigeorgiou, added: “As early adopters, we are not only proving the value of IATA’s ONE Record standard but also helping to accelerate the industry’s transition to a truly connected air cargo ecosystem where stakeholders can exchange shipment data seamlessly, securely and in real time. By replacing fragmented communications with a standardized, single source of truth for shipment data, ONE Record will unlock new levels of transparency, efficiency and collaboration across the global air cargo supply chain.”

FedEx sets up Life Sciences arm

By
Chris Lewis
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FedEx has launched FedEx Life Sciences , a dedicated organization to support the increasingly complex movement of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, biologics, clinical trials and other critical healthcare shipments.

FedEx has also expanded its life sciences footprint with six Life Sciences Centers globally and has launched a direct flight between Indianapolis and Dublin to strengthen links between two pharmaceutical manufacturing hubs.

FedEx Life Sciences will include a dedicated healthcare team and advanced monitoring capabilities, headed by Nick Gennari who will exclusively focus on this segment as president of healthcare and life sciences. He joined FedEx in 1992, driving strategic sales and supply chain solutions for global healthcare, aerospace, and high-tech customers, before assuming leadership of the healthcare vertical in 2024.

FedEx has already made major investments in healthcare infrastructure and technology, securing IATA CEIV Pharma Corporate Certification in 2025 and achieving corporate-level certification for ground handling across its air hubs and ramps. It also recently appointed a vice president of global quality, healthcare, and life sciences to oversee global quality management systems and support the standards required by pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers.

Executive vice president and chief customer officer, Brie Carere, said: “FedEx Life Sciences brings together our global network, advanced monitoring capabilities, and healthcare-focused expertise to help make supply chains smarter and more resilient. Under Nick’s leadership, this organization will help healthcare customers move with the speed, confidence, and precision patients require.”

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