Nordisk Aviation has signed an agreement to provide Emirates with up to 10,000 for fire-resistant AKE containers for baggage and cargo, designed to mitigate the risks from lithium-ion battery fires. The manufacturer collaborated with the carrier to conduct rigorous fire testing. While the aerospace standard (SAE AS8992) outlines requirements for Class A paper fires, the tests exceeded industry requirements and included a heavy-duty fire simulation involving an AKE container with 1,000 18650-Li-ion battery cells distributed across 60 pieces of luggage and other flammable items like clothing, toiletries and alcohol bottles. The Nordisk AKE’s design allowed flue gases to escape while preventing oxygen inflow, and contained the fire for the entire six-hour testing period.
Magma Aviation plans to add medium-sized freighters to its fleet
Magma Aviation is considering adding medium-size freighters to its wide- and narrow-bodied fleet, the Dublin headquartered air cargo solutions company said in its review of operations in 2024.
The new aircraft would support its existing B747 international flights, and are expected to arrive by the end of 2025.
Magma Aviation set up its global hub in Dublin in 2024. Chief executive, Peter Kerins explained: “We have established our global services here because Dublin is a global aviation hub. This has allowed us to start developing better relationships with leasing companies. Approximately 50% of the world’s aircraft are leased from Ireland. To grow the company’s network, it is essential to strengthen our position here as new, more efficient, long-range aircraft come to market.”
Magma Aviation is part of Avia Solutions Group, the world’s largest ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) provider. It operates a fleet of 221 aircraft worldwide. Its 14,000-strong team also provides a range of aviation services: MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul), pilot and crew training, ground handling and associated aviation services.
Last year, Magma Aviation signed a multi-year contract with Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) for freighter handling at Liege Airport (LGG). It also added narrow-body aircraft to its fleet to diversify its operational capabilities.
As well as the new global headquarters in Dublin, Magma Aviation opened an additional office in Dubai to strengthen its commercial presence in the East and access new markets, not only in the Middle East but in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent and China.
Kerins stated: “2024 was a very exciting and challenging year for the Magma Aviation. We set out on a plan to make the most of the resources we were using. This will continue as we grow, but the one thing we introduced, and which we always keep in mind, is being quick to adapt. Considering the growth of Magma Aviation over the years, I think the strength has been our people. The team in the company are experts in what they do.”
Looking forward to 2025, he expects growth in air cargo demand to moderate form the 11.3% increase seen last year but still remain at around 5.8%. The global market will continue to adapt to significant geopolitical shifts and economic conditions, such as changes in oil prices and global trade dynamics. These factors will influence both demand and capacity planning across the industry.
Etihad to offer daily Atlanta flights
Etihad says it will boost its four-times a week service to Atlanta, due to be launched on 2 July, to a daily flight from 1 November. It will be operated by Airbus A350-1000 aircraft.
Turkish Cargo goes live on CargoWise
Turkish Cargo has integrated its COMIS eReservation system with the CargoWise platform. It can now offer shippers real-time rates, capacity availability and reservations. The API connection also eliminates errors from manual data entry. The system also offers the ability to modify a booking until final execution of the Master Air Waybill.
US forwarder AGS takes stake in Malaysia’s KGW Logistics
New York-based forwarding and logistics company Accelerated Global Solutions (AGS) is investing in a 15% stake in Malaysia-headquartered KGW Logistics.
AGS itself was acquired by Chris Zheng founder of last mile delivery specialist SpeedX in November.
You may recall that Chris Zheng, Founder of SpeedX, a tech-enabled last-mile delivery specialists,
AGS says the move will solidify its position in trans-Pacific trade and deepen its global freight forwarding presence. KGW is provides of air freight services as well as warehousing and distribution solutions for healthcare-related products and devices and moves over 10,000tei of seafreight a year to North America.
KGW meanwhile gains access to AGS’s global network, including warehouses and last-mile delivery in North America, Greater China, Southeast Asia, and Europe. SpeedX’s last-mile network across over US 9,000 zip codes.
The investment is part of Zheng’s ambition to build a $1 billion end-to-end supply chain solution infrastructure within 18 months.
He stated:“By combining our existing freight forwarding and brokerage capabilities, KGW’s ocean freight expertise, and SpeedX’s innovative last-mile solutions, we are creating an infrastructure that meets the demands of a globalized economy. This partnership reflects our commitment to delivering efficient, cost-effective, and tech-enabled global logistics solutions.”
Pictured: Chris Zheng (left) with Dato’ Roger Wong, managing director of KGW Group
Steffen Fessler to head Jettainer’s Cool ULD arm
Steffen Fessler is to take over as head of Cool ULD at fleet operator Jettainer. He will be responsible for the operations and ongoing development the company’s cool&fly service. a one-stop-shop that covers all processes of cool ULD leasing and management.
He was previously business manager for cargo tools at Lufthansa Industry Solutions and has already supported Jettainer in software development and infrastructure projects.
UPS opens cross-dock pharma sites in Mexico, Milan and Frankfurt
UPS Healthcare has opened three new specialized cross-docking facilities in Mexico City, Milan, and Frankfurt for pharmaceutical shipments with a range of time and temperature control requirements.
The facilities in Mexico have CEIV Pharma Certification, and cover 10,700sq m. They support temperatures from ambient to frozen (2 to 8°C, 15 to 25°C and -15 to -25°C.
Spanning 28,500sq m, the Milan facility has over 20,000 pallet positions capable of storing shipments from 2 to 8°C and 15 to 25°C. Located next to the airport, it provides direct movement of shipments to outbound vehicles, bypassing storage and giving quicker delivery times.
The new facility in Frankfurt covers -15 to -25°C, 2 to 8°C and 15 to 25°C temperature ranges. It is close to Frankfurt airport, and UPS’s European air hub at Cologne Bonn Airport, Germany. This allows for short transit times, including next-day and two-day service, to global destinations.
The facilities follow the opening of a cross-docking facility in Hyderabad, India.
UPS’s facilities in Amsterdam, New York, Shanghai, and Miami have achieved CEIV Pharma Certification joining facilities across Asia in the company’s global network.
Swissport and Qatar Airways make the course of true love run a little smoother
Swissport International has expanded its ‘Flower Corridor’ to key European air cargo destinations ahead of Valentine’s Day on 14 February. It gives a fully temperature-controlled, end-to-end process for the transport of fresh flowers from Kenya to Europe, extending shelf life by up to a week.
This Valentine’s season, Swissport expects to handle more than 250 million flowers at its air cargo center in Nairobi, Kenya, one of the key origins for fresh flowers . Flowers move from Kenyan farms via Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta Airport (NBO) to global destinations on 35 additional freighter flights.
Swissport is s investing in capacity and technology to handle perishable and sensitive freight within a pre-defined temperature range, which must be maintained throughout the entire ground handling process: from the arrival of from farms, through the high-speed vacuum cooling process during acceptance, to the loading of pallets onto the aircraft. This ‘Flower Corridor’ which Swissport first rolled out in Kenya two years ago, has now also been implemented at key European air cargo destinations in Amsterdam and Liège.
Qatar Airways Cargo meanwhile has transported 2,800 tonnes of flowers, the equivalent of 42 million fresh-cut red roses from Kenya and South America in time for Valentine’s Day. From Nairobi, the carrier transported almost 1,600 tonnes on its scheduled flights and charters and from Bogota and Quito, it carried close to 1,200 tonnes to key markets including Amsterdam, Middle East, Asia and Australia.
It operated nine additional Boeing 777 charters from Nairobi and ten from Quito in the fortnight leading up to Valentine’s Day, in addition to its regular scheduled flights.
Miami International Airport said meanwhile that it was expecting to handle 1,500 tons of cut flowers daily between January 1 and the end of February – a 3% increase over the airport’s record-breaking peak season in 2024. America’s largest gateway for flowers, which handles 91% of all imports by air to the US, expects to receive 90,154 tons of cut flowers valued at more than $400 million during this year’s Valentine’s Day rush.
Flowers continue to be MIA’s largest imported product by weight, accounting for almost 360,000 tons annually worth $1.65 billion. It has the nation’s most extensive air route network with Colombia and Ecuador, the two top flower-producing countries in the region
Longest-ever load for Prestwick
Glasgow Prestwick Airport has handled its longest-ever piece of freight, as part of a consignment for the oil and gas industry.
The cargo was flown from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, alongside two additional 40-foot components for on-carriage to Aberdeen.
The longest piece, 67 feet long and weighing 24 tonnes, was transported on three 20-foot connecting pallets, and required three main deck loaders and two cranes for safe offloading.
The entire operation was completed in 30 minutes.
The Scottish government-owned airport invested in new high loaders last year, with capacities of 20 and 35 tonnes, which were used to offload this consignment. Business development director, Nico Le Roux, said: “Last year, we decided to invest significantly in our infrastructure, and the success of this operation is a direct result of that commitment.” “We are dedicated to supporting our clients and the industries they operate in, particularly outsized cargo for the oil and gas sector, which has always been one of our strengths.”
Air Charter Service enters Italy
Air Charter Service has opened its first Italian office in Milan. It will be headed by Leonardo D’Alessandro, who joined the broker in February 2015 at its London headquarters, before moving to the Geneva office in 2018. From there he has been focussing on predominantly Italian clients.