Changi Airport Group has opened its refurbished Changi Nexus One air logistics facility within Singapore’s Changi Airfreight Centre with close on 8,000sq m (86,000sq ft) of warehousing space. The facility, which has direct apron access, is designed for two tenants. It will increase Changi Airport’s logistics warehouse capacity prior to the completion of the Changi East Industrial Zone in the mid-2030s. Expeditors, the world’s seventh largest air freight forwarder has already committed to take space in the facility.
Challenge completed – two more 767Fs for all-cargo carrier
Challenge Group has completed its 767 conversion program with the deployment of two newly converted B767-300 freighters.
They bring the total number of B767-300BDSF aircraft in the Group’s fleet to four, each with a capacity of 52 tons and 400 cubic meters, reinforced floors and wide cargo doors.
They have already enabled the launch of a new service to Delhi in early October in addition to the three existing weekly frequencies to Mumbai. The new freighters also free up capacity on the 747 aircraft, allowing for increased long-haul destinations between Europe, the Far East and the US. Challenge Group is now operating a total of 10 aircraft.
Lights, camera – U-Freight!
U-Freight Group has helped Airport Authority Hong Kong produce a video promoting the gateway as an e-commerce hub.
‘Hong Kong International Airport – The e-commerce fulfilment hub in Asia’ is part of a campaign to highlight its advantages as a global logistics centre.
Parts of the video were filmed at U-Freight subsidiary e+Solutions’ eCommerce Logistics Centre at Chuen Kei Industrial Centre in Kwai Chung. Airport stakeholders shared insights into how Hong Kong’s capabilities support international commerce.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ov9izHn4rs
Awery’s Flightcare wins Hackathon award
Awery Aviation Software (Awery) was awarded the Developer Prize at IATA’s ONE Record Hackathon in Istanbul on 14 October for its Flight Care solution for communication issues between airlines and third-party providers.
Participants were tasked with developing a solution to enable real-time updates between airlines, ground handling agents (GHAs), and ramp agents, to avoid delays and improve air cargo handling efficiency.
Awery’s Flight Care solution uses IATA’s ONE Record Data Sharing Standard to enable stakeholders to share critical shipment data in real-time.
Judges praised Awery’s solution for its practical application of the ONE Record standard, helping to solve a major issue in air cargo logistics by ensuring better data synchronisation between stakeholders.
Developed over 28 hours, Flight Care was designed to allow each party to input, update, and track operational milestones in real time, based on the Cargo iQ MOP 4.0 guidelines.
Menzies appoints in the Americas
Menzies Aviation has made a series of senior appointments in the Americas region.
Oliver Ashton has been promoted to senior vice president, cargo Americas, while Chris Dohne becomes senior vice president, sales, commercial and business development. Arvin Nagules steps into a newly created role as senior vice president, organizational change, Americas, while Nigel Shuttleworth takes up the position of senior vice president, ground handling, North America and the Caribbean.
Oliver Ashton brings over two decades of experience in the aviation industry, including 15 years with Avianca, where he played a key role in the airline’s integration process following its mergers in Colombia and Ecuador. He joined Menzies as a consultant in 2021, serving as commercial director and cargo operations director in the LATAM region.
Pictured left to right: Oliver Ashton, Nigel Shuttleworth, Arvin Nagules and Chris Dohne
MAB Kargo gains CargoiQ certificate
Malaysian carrier MAB Kargo (also known as MAS Kargo) has gained Cargo iQ’s first certification in Malaysia following a quality audit. It reported 95% of its shipments in June this year to Cargo iQ. Cargo iQ helps members create a robust quality management framework – part of which is a methodology to plan, control, and measure the movement of shipments.
Certification is valid for three years.
American increases Latam links
American Airlines Cargo is introducing new Boeing 787-8 seasonal service from Rio de Janeiro to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and an expanded daily service to New York JFK in its new winter widebody schedule.
It is also increasing flights from São Paulo and Buenos Aires to its hub at Miami to up to three times daily.
Overall, the carrier is adding nearly 200 roundtrip widebody departures out of Latin America compared to the previous winter season.
American is also launching inaugural service from Brisbane Airport to Dallas, the longest non-stop flight in the carrier’s network. There is also a service from Tokyo-Haneda to New York JFK, launched in summer. Both routes will operate with Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
The carrier will also roll out increased frequencies compared to the previous winter season with daily service from Shanghai Pudong to Dallas for the full period and an earlier start for Auckland International Airport to Los Angeles, at the beginning of December. Transpacific routes see an increase of more than 150 roundtrip widebody flights compared to the previous winter season.
On Transatlantic network American will operate daily from Philadelphia to Barcelona for the entire season and will continue to operate more widebody departures from London Heathrow than any other US airline.
Vice president of commercial for American Airlines Cargo, Roger Samways, said: “We are excited about connecting Dallas and Rio with new, non-stop service and expanding our reach across the Pacific to Brisbane. This winter schedule enables us to further connect freight across five continents as we focus on maximizing our network to meet the global needs of the industry.”
Swiss rekindles Bulgaria partnership with Globe Air
Swiss WorldCargo has resumed its partnership with GSA, Globe Air Cargo Bulgaria. The partnership dates back to 2008, and has now been re-awakened with an additional team member at ECS-owned Globe Air, who will work closely with the carrier. The GSSA will carry out sales, booking, messaging, operational supervision, post-flight activities and claims.
Swiss WorldCargo operates an A220 between Zurich and Sofia, offering Bulgarian forwarders connections across Europe, North and South America, and the Far East. It specialises in high-value, care-intensive and temperature-sensitive cargo such as valuables, perishables, and pharmaceuticals, alongside its X-Presso transportation solution.
Hactl to handle MSC-Air freighters
Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd (Hactl) has secured the handling contract for MSC-Air’s B777 freighters, flying three times weekly from its Milan base.
The B777 freighters, owned by container shipping line MSC, first appeared in Hong Kong in December 2022,. Then in August 2023, MSC acquired a majority stake in Italian carrier AlisCargo Airlines, which had previously operated up to 20 B777 “preighters” per month into Hong Kong during COVID. These flights were also handled by Hactl, which provided cargo terminal handling and documentation services.
Earlier in 2024, MSC acquired the remaining shares in AlisCargo Airlines, and re-commenced operations into Hong Kong in July, using its own B777Fs on AlisCargo Airlines’ Air Operators Certificate (AOC). The new flights were once again handled by Hactl, which now added ramp handling to create a one-stop-shop service for the freighter operator.
MSC Air Cargo’s fleet of five B777Fs also serves Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, Mexico City, Quito, Xiamen, Seoul and Karaganda.
CSafe unveils flask of the future
Cold chain specialist CSafe has launched a CGT Ultra D – a multi-use, dry ice dewar (vacuum flask) for advanced therapy medicinal products that maintains temperatures below -70C for over 37 days.
The product is being unveiled at Meeting on the Mesa cell and gene industry conference in Phoenix, Arizona, on October 7-9. Attendees are also invited to an exclusive preview of an upcoming product, the single-use, liquid nitrogen CGT Cryo S.
CSafe says the launch of the CGT Ultra D and CGT Cryo S are a milestone in completing CSafe’s comprehensive suite of dewars. They are equipped with TracSafe RLT data loggers, which provide real-time GPS location and conditional data via CSafe Connect, CSafe’s cloud-based portal.
Earlier this year, CSafe launched the CGT Cryo M, a liquid nitrogen, multi-use dewar, available in 4 and 10 liter versions, that maintains temperatures below -150C for over 10 days.