Blog | Air Cargo Vision | Air Cargo News ACV Air Freight News Air Cargo Vision

Airfreight industry calls for crisis funding

-

October 18, 2022

Airfreight industry calls for crisis funding

The Airforwarders Association and the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America are calling for a State or Federal-backed ‘Air Cargo Support Fund’ to tackle the crisis in the US industry.

The recommendations form part of a whitepaper following a survey of 400 air cargo stakeholders in the public and private sectors, identifying the critical issues and the airports where the challenges are greatest.

AfA executive director Brandon Fried, said that with airports and airlines experiencing substantial revenue shortfalls over the past two years, 2the situation is becoming critical with potentially severe impacts on the economy and jobs throughout the country”.

While airports have received Airports received $25 billion under the Infrastructure Act, the largest federal investment in public transit in history, there is no specific allocation or requirement that funds be used for air cargo development.

Fried warned also: “Because of the lagging financials, airports will be allocating the monies of the Infrastructure Act to passengers, security, and safety, leaving insufficient funds to sustain air cargo operations. Additional funding, specifically dedicated to air cargo, is urgently needed.”

The white paper, called Safeguarding the future of air cargo: its economic importance and critical need for investment, warns that a lack of investment could lead tojob losses, as well as delays to shipping time-sensitive products by air, and higher costs to all elements of the logistics chain from shipper to buyer.

“The findings in the whitepaper demonstrate major concern from both NCBFAA and AfA members,” said Donna Mullins, vice president, Kale Info Solutions, and air freight subcommittee chair at the NCBFAA. “We have worked hard to present clear recommendations but these will come at a cost and it is vital that the $25 billion that airports will receive by way of the Infrastructure Act is allocated across all areas of airport development.”

The recommendations include implementing airport community systems, encouraging better recruitment and retention through improved compensation packages, and a new industry-wide training program.

IAG Cargo restarts Barcelona-Chile link

Airlines

Chris Lewis

-

October 18, 2022

0

IAG Cargo is to restart services between Barcelona and Chile for the first time since the Covid pandemic. The route will run four times a week to Santiago de Chile International Airport from 31 October using a Airbus A330-200 aircraft operated by IAG’s LEVEL arm.

Barcelona offers an extensive trucking network into nearby countries.

IAG Cargo is currently operating over 250 weekly services between Europe, UK and Latin American destinations such as Mexico, Brazil and Ecuador. This additional capacity between Spain and Chile will further support the movement of popular commodities, including fruit, vegetables and fish, utilizing IAG Cargo’s Constant Fresh service to ensure the produce arrives on supermarket shelves in peak condition.

Regional commercial manager for Latin America at IAG Cargo, Rodrigo Casal, said: “Latin America is a major trade route for our customers, particularly for perishables into Europe. We’re delighted to be able to restart our operations between Barcelona and Chile to facilitate the movement of essential foods and support local farming communities.”

Chief operations and digital officer of LEVEL, Ricard Falomir, added: “We are pleased to resume our operations between Barcelona and Santiago de Chile for passengers and cargo, contributing to the extensive cargo network of IAG Cargo, possible thanks to the synergies of the Group. LEVEL is the only airline that directly connects both destinations, a strategic market regarding not only passengers but also cargo. The route is in addition to the service in Buenos Aires, which reaches the daily flight in this winter season.”

Rodriguez to head broker ACS in Miami

Brokers

Chris Lewis

-

October 17, 2022

0

UK-owned broker Air Charter Service has appointed Brian Rodriguez as head of its Florida operation, based in Miami. Having moved from our ACS’ New York seven years ago he is currently vice-president of ACS Miami.

Maersk opens O’Hare hub

Chris Lewis

-

October 14, 2022

0

Maersk has inaugurated a new Chicago air freight gateway near O’Hare Airport offering direct planeside offloading with immediate transfers. The new facility also serves Maersk’s air cargo hub at nearby Rockford International Airport. The new facility is a bonded container freight station (CFS) with and operates as a US Transportation Security Administration Certified Cargo Screening Facility.

Colombia’s Avianca first to gain CEIV fresh certificate

Chris Lewis

-

October 14, 2022

0

Colombia’s Avianca first to gain CEIV fresh certificate

Colombia’s Avianca Cargo has become the first airline in the Americas certified by the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) Fresh program.

IATA representatives officially presented the certificate to the carrier at Miami International Airport (MIA) on 13 October. Miami and Bogota are the airline’s first certified stations, and Medellin and Quito will also be CEIV Fresh certified by the end of 2022.

Latin America represents more than 50% of the carrier’s transported cargo, including flowers from Colombia and Ecuador and other perishables such as fruit, fish, and meat products from Chile, Peru, Argentina to the US, Europe and the rest of the world.

Avianca Cargo chief executive, Gabriel Oliva, said: “This is a highly relevant milestone and we are very proud to receive this certification from IATA. Miami International Airport and all our allies are a fundamental part of the supply chain of perishable transport. We continue transforming our business and we want to continue being the best ally of our clients by transporting their products that are sensitive to time and temperature, under the highest quality standards. We continue to work every day to promote the development of Latin American economies and be a quality reference in the region.”

MIA director and chief executive, Ralph Cutié, added: “Congratulations to Avianca Cargo on being recognized for its dedication to cargo handling excellence. As the busiest US airport for perishable freight, handling 69% of all perishable imports to the US by air, we are proud to celebrate this global achievement with Avianca Cargo’s Miami operation.”

Rock-it Global signs up to US green scheme

Chris Lewis

-

October 13, 2022

0

Rock-it Global signs up to US green scheme

Global Critical Logistics’ Rock-it Global has signed on to the US SmartWay sustainability program.

SmartWay is a collaboration between the US Environmental Protection Agency andindustry to provide a framework to assess the environmental and energy efficiency of supply chains.

The SmartWay program will support Rock-it by providing a comprehensive system and tools to track, document, and share information about its freight emissions and help Rock-it reduce emissions by speeding up the implementation of fuel-saving technologies.

Chief administrative officer, Sasha Goodman, said: “As a SmartWay partner, we will be joining close to 4,000 other partners that include shippers and other logistics companies, as well as truck, rail, barge, and multimodal carriers to achieve our common goal.”

Since its launch in 2004 SmartWay partners have reduced and avoided 336 million barrels of oil, USD 44.8 billion in fuel costs, 143 million metric tons of CO2, 2.7 million short tons of NOx and 112,000 short tons of particulate matter (PM).

This new partnership ties in with Rock-it’s mission to be a socially and environmentally responsible pioneer in the live event industry.

This includes environmentally friendly packaging material, fuel efficient modes of shipping and sustainable routing schedules as well as offsetting carbon emissions of the projects executed for clients through initiatives such as tree-planting.

Drones for Abu Dhabi

Chris Lewis

-

October 13, 2022

0

Maqta Gateway – the digital arm of AD Ports Group – Emirates Post Group and aerial logistics provider SkyGo are to collaborate on a trial programme to deploy drones to carry parcels and documents across Abu Dhabi. Beginning with short-range journeys, the programme will expand to long-range tests with an increased capacity to assess demand and understand the wider benefits.

The objective is to provide a sustainable, user-friendly service that can carry vital medical supplies, fresh foods and urgent documents rapidly, while providing real-time tracking.

Maqta Gateway will deploy its integrated digital marketplace, Margo Hub, to facilitate online transactions between customers and Emirates Post Group, which in turn will manage the service and provide tracking and status updates, while SkyGo provides the drone solutions.

Details of the programme will be released towards the end of 2022, with a full commercial offering planned for launch next year, pending approval.

Hactl makes the grade again

Ground Handling

Chris Lewis

-

October 12, 2022

0

Hong Kong handler HACTL has obtained IATA’s CEIV Lithium Batteries (Li-batt) standard, giving it accreditations in all parts of the CEIV program, the others being Pharma, Fresh and Live Animals.

With the well-documented risks arising from incorrect packaging and handling of battery shipments, Hactl has been steadily tightening its procedures and improving resources for handling such traffic. Measures to date have included additional in-house staff training to IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) standards (Hactl being an IATA Accredited Training School since 2003, authorised to train its own and third party staff) and IATA Lithium Battery Shipping Regulations. It has also opened a dedicated DGR zone with competent, experienced staff; and undertaken proactive facilitation of agents and shippers in the correct declaration, handling and storage of lithium battery shipments.

Hactl executive director and chief financial officer Amy Lam said: “Lithium batteries will become an increasing element of air cargo traffic globally, so ensuring the correct procedures and training for handling them has never been more important.

“Although Hactl has been fully prepared and resourced for such traffic for some years, we recognise that every link in battery supply chains must perform its functions to a consistent and high standard. We therefore strongly support the concept of IATA’s CEIV Lithium Batteries standard – the first for handling this specific commodity – and were enthusiastic adopters.”

Broker ACS keeps on growing

Brokers

Chris Lewis

-

October 11, 2022

0

UK-based broker Air Charter Service recorded sales of $770 million for the first six months of its financial year (1 February-31 July 31), an increase of 49% on the same period last year.
ACS founder and chairman, Chris Leach, commented: “Last year was our record year, with revenue of $1.8 billion, but at the halfway point we weren’t in as good shape as we are for this one. All three divisions of cargo, private jets and group travel have truly outdone themselves.

“The cargo industry remains strong with our cargo division generating 44% more revenue than at the halfway point of 2021, as supply chains continue to struggle. We expect a cooling of the market at some point and there are signs of it in certain regional markets and sectors. However, as of September, we have not seen that translate to a slowdown of our overall cargo business.”

Qatar boards Cargo.one platform

Chris Lewis

-

October 11, 2022

0

The Cargo.one platform has signed a global partnership with Qatar Airways Cargo. Users can now book Qatar Airways Cargo’s capacity in markets including North America, Europe, Japan, India and Brazil. The carrier currently offers customers more than 60 dedicated freighter and over 150 bellyhold destinations on a fleet of some 250 aircraft. Its network adds 2,000 new pairs or origins and destinations and 3,000 additional flights per month.