Kuwaiti budget carrier Jazeera Airways recently announced that it ran its first all-cargo flight to and from Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). This move follows many other airlines as they make the most of their unused passenger aircraft amidst the global drop in passenger volume.
“In this challenging business environment, we have adapted quickly to focus on cargo opportunities. We are pleased to be able to serve companies and institutions with our cargo services, ensuring vital food and other supplies are brought into Kuwait.’’ – Rohit Ramachandran, Chief Executive Officer, Jazeera Airways
The flight took on the number J93221 and departed Kuwait at 16:19 local time, arriving in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh at 17:07. The total flight time was just 48 minutes and utilized an Airbus A320 – one of 14 belonging to the Jazeera Airways fleet.
This particular journey flight was an all-cargo flight, which comes as part of the airline’s efforts to grow its cargo capability during the COVID-19 shutdown of commercial passenger operations. In fact, the country of Kuwait has restricted air travel to a few passenger airlines with the aim of transporting foreigners (non-Kuwaiti-citizens) out of the country.
Saudia Cargo says it made a record payload-carrying essential food supplies from Lahore, Pakistan to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, using a passenger aircraft turned into an all-cargo flight, a new trend that emerged in the ongoing fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.
The record 65.3 tons of perishables such as meat and vegetables were loaded into the lower deck of a Boeing-777 passenger plane and safely arrived in the Kingdom on April 25.
Saudia Cargo has successfully expanded its freighter fleet since March 23 by using the passenger planes of Saudia Airlines as all-cargo only flights.
Commenting on Saudia Cargo’s record payload and commitment to serve communities amid the pandemic CEO Omar Hariri says: “Saudia Cargo is committed to serve our customers and in less than a week after the airline grounded the passenger fleet due to the COVID-19 crisis, many of the aircraft were back in the air serving as cargo only flights. With reduced cargo capacity, it is more important than ever to maximize available cargo space to be able to serve the need for essential food, personal protective equipment (PPE), medical and pharmaceutical supplies.”
Saudia Cargo has expanded its freighter capacity with more than 35 weekly flights operated as cargo only passenger aircrafts, enabling the air cargo carrier to serve the Kingdom’s needs for essential food, medical and other supplies during this time of global health crisis.
Its continued operations also ensured the seamless link in transporting essential supplies between the East and the West in line with the Saudi Vision 2030.
Turkish Cargo, the fastest growing air cargo brand in the world, achieved the highest growth rate among the best 25 air cargo carriers with 16.6 percent growth rate, according to the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Freight Ton Kilometers (FTK) February’20 results.
Previously ranking 8th in 2019, Turkish Cargo rose to 5th place and increased its global FTK market share to 4.4 percent, while the global air cargo industry shrank by 2.6 percent, according to FTK data, which is the measure of a flight’s freight carrying capacity calculated by multiplying the number of ton of freight on an aircraft by the distance travelled in kilometers.
On the successful growth of the Turkish Cargo, Turkish Airlines Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee, M. İlker Aycı stated, “Just like our nation, we are a company that cannot abide losing or giving up.
During these difficult days where the only thing we can do is to carry cargo, we are doing our duty to the best of our abilities while doing valuable work for humanitarian and commercial ends. The success of Turkish Cargo shows our commitment to carry our country to a central position in the world for the air cargo sector. Our geopolitical location and available means will help our country to become a more significant player in the air cargo sector following the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, we will be marching with surer footing towards our goal of making Turkish Cargo one of the top five air cargo brands in the world by 2023.
Turkey’s national air cargo brand Turkish Cargo continues its operations 24/7 in order to keep the global supply chain intact by carrying food, relief supplies, masks, medical equipment and medicines during the global pandemic of COVID-19.
Turkish Cargo continues to carry much-needed medicines and medical equipment from different continents first to Turkey and afterwards from Turkey to Chicago, Taipei, Atlanta, Sao Paulo, Seoul, New York and Kiev, and to all over the world. The successful brand carried 4,000 tons of medicines and 500 tons of medical equipment during April.
Turkish Cargo, which has the 6th largest air cargo carrying capacity in the world, is providing air cargo services with 25 high-capacity freighters to 90 direct cargo destinations, while also reaching 38 destinations, including London, Moscow, Cairo, Shanghai, Bangkok, Doha, Dubai and Casablanca with 19 wide-body passenger aircraft from the fleet of Turkish Airlines.
During this critical period, flag carrier air cargo brand continues to act as a bridge between countries in order to prevent the disruption of global supply chain, operating more than 900 flights in April with cargo and passenger aircraft.
In addition to its contributions towards maintaining the global supply chain, global air cargo brand Turkish Cargo also continues to perform its duty to our nation, supporting our people as the national flag carrier during these difficult days.
Emirates SkyCargo has utilized the cargo capacity on its Boeing 777 freighter and Boeing 777-300ER passenger freighter aircraft to help maintain and replenish food supplies in the UAE during the Covid-19 pandemic. The air cargo carrier has helped import more than 34,000 tons of food into the country between January and April 2020, out of which 13,000 tons were imported between March and April. In the month of April alone, Emirates SkyCargo helped bring in food supplies into the UAE from over 35 countries around the world.
“Despite the severe reduction in the number of flights we operate and the resultant reduction in the amount of cargo capacity we can work with, we have given top importance to maintain food supplies in the UAE as we consider this our responsibility. Through our regular cargo flights from major food production markets such as Australia, Egypt, India, Kenya, Pakistan and many other nations, we have been able to import quality food items. This has helped keep store shelves in the UAE well stocked with the familiar and comfort food items that puts a smile on people’s faces.
We are also thankful to the support from the various UAE authorities who have helped facilitate these imports during such critical times,” said Nabil Sultan, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Cargo.
Emirates SkyCargo is currently operating flights to around 60 global destinations on a scheduled basis and to many more destinations as charter and ad hoc operations. Food bound for the UAE is loaded on these flights from markets across the world. With its access to expertise in specialized handling for perishables through its Emirates Fresh product, Emirates SkyCargo ensures that the produce reaching the UAE maintains its freshness during transit.
Just some of the food imports that Emirates SkyCargo has facilitated since the start of the year include
More than 5,200 tons of food from Australia including chilled meat and fruits such as grapes and melons
Close to 2,500 tons of food from Egypt including fresh fruits such as strawberries, guavas and vegetables including sweet potatoes
More than 4,000 tons of food from India including fresh vegetables and fruits
More than 2,500 tons of food from Kenya including fresh fruits such as pineapples and mangoes and meat
Close to 1,600 tons of salmon from Norway
Over 4,500 tons of food from Pakistan including chilled meat, fish and vegetables
In addition to securing UAE food supplies, Emirates SkyCargo also provides a boost to the local economies of the various countries it operates to by providing a lifeline for the agricultural and other produce exporters. The export revenues generated from trade of fruits, vegetables, sea food and meat support the livelihoods of farmers and growers in these regions. Just last week, the air cargo carrier announced that it would be working with the Australian government to facilitate exports of Australian agricultural and sea food commodities.
Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of the Etihad Aviation Group, has partnered with the Australian Government to provide critical international airfreight assistance to Australia.
Under the agreement with the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), Etihad Cargo will provide dedicated cargo services between Abu Dhabi and Australia, leveraging bellyhold capacity of its fleet of Etihad Airways passenger aircraft to deliver essential supplies into the Australian market, and facilitate bi-directional trade to further ensure continuity of fresh imports to the UAE from Australia including meat, fish and seafood, fruits, and vegetables. The initiative has been established by the Australian Government to accelerate delivery of agricultural and fisheries exports into key overseas markets, with over 560 Australian businesses already registering their interest in utilizing the International Freight Assistance Mechanism.
Abdulla Mohamed Shadid, Managing Director Cargo and Logistics at Etihad Aviation Group, said, “In this time of crisis, the facilitation of international trade and delivery of essential supplies is more important than ever. Australia has been a longtime and vital trading partner for the UAE and we are pleased to be able to continue to provide this lifeline connecting our countries and enabling the movement of goods that is helping to save people’s lives, supporting Australia’s produce exporters and continuing to support the UAE’s food security program.”
Federal Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said this new network would be crucial to coordinating international freight out of Australia until commercial passenger flights were restored.
“Around 90 percent of our air freight, usually goes out in the bellies of passenger aircraft. With very few international passenger flights leaving Australia at present, our exporters are facing major hurdles,” Minister Birmingham said. “Through the better coordination of freight out of Australia, we can restore key freight routes and establish more frequent flights to our key markets so our agricultural and fisheries exporters can deliver their products to customers on time. We’ve moved quickly to establish this network and are now getting on with the job of supporting our exporters to get their products flowing again. With a network of some of the world’s largest airlines and most reputable freight forwarders in place, we’re injecting more reliability into the system that will also help our smaller exporters to aggregate their freight into volumes so they don’t miss out on export opportunities.”
The addition of weekly services to Australia expands on Etihad Cargo’s network of 22 cargo-only passenger freighters, plus an additional 10 used for charters, with regular services already in place between Abu Dhabi and Amsterdam, Brussels, Beijing, Bangkok, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Jakarta, Kochi, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur, London, Manila, Mumbai, Oslo, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo and Zurich
In addition to regularly scheduled cargo services, these activities ensure the delivery of fresh food, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies as part of the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
China has tested a homegrown electric cargo ship in water in Changzhou at the Yangtze River section.
The ship, which has a load capacity of 1,000t, is powered using a lithium battery and supercapacitor with a 1,458 kWh battery capacity.
Xinhua quoted the State Grid Jiangsu branch as saying that the capacity is equivalent to 40 electric cars. State Grid Jiangsu branch was a participant in the design of the ship.
Christened ‘Zhongtiandianyun 001’, the ship can travel 50km after a charging period of 2.5 hours, said the company’s marketing director Li Yaohong.
The province of Jiangsu installed 4,918 charging systems along the river in eight cities. These points are capable of providing around 57 million kWh of power annually.
This is expected to save over 20,000t of diesel, decrease oxynitride emissions by more than 600t and sulphur dioxide emissions by 200t.
The Yangtze River’s Jiangsu section is said to be one of the busiest waterways around the globe. More than 90% of the ships operate using diesel, which contributes to pollution in the area.
Skypooling, the first online platform for the global exchange of Unit Load Devices (ULDs), is currently experiencing a significant increase in the quantities of offered and demanded ULDs.
The value rose by almost 40% compared to the beginning of the year. Around 50 airlines currently offer and search for several thousand ULDs. skypooling matches compatible requests. In this way, the platform helps to ensure that the appropriate container and pallets are available for cargo and special flights despite the enormous reduction of worldwide air traffic and short-term flight schedule changes.
“We are currently registering overstocks of ULDs in many places, but about every third entry on our platform is a search query. We are therefore calling out to all airlines to report their overstocks on skypooling. The more airlines take advantage of the service, the better the devices can be used for urgently needed freight. At the same time, storage costs for overstocks can also be reduced in some cases,” says Christine Klemmer, general manager of skypooling.
To speed up the search for the right ULDs, skypooling is now offering the function for emergency inquiries, which is otherwise only unlimitedly available to premium users, to all participants free of charge. In this way, inquiries can be addressed to all users simultaneously. Leasing companies also have the option to offer their ULDs on the skypooling platform, so that users can contact the companies directly in an emergency, if they cannot find suitable matches.
Furthermore, a new Lost & Found function has been made available on the platform since the beginning of April.
This allows users, including ground handling agents, to post lost or found ULDs in order to return the loading equipment to its owners as quickly as possible. Since its introduction, the first as found reported ULDs have already been successfully returned to their owners.
PayCargo has launched a dedicated Canadian Dollar online freight payment platform in Canada. Payers now have the flexibility to pay in either Canadian or US dollars for the first time.
The Canada launch, part of ongoing growth and development plans by the Fintech company, was fast-tracked to help customers across the supply chain overcome payment challenges related to the Covid-19 outbreak.
“We have been planning a phased expansion into Canada, and this launch at a challenging time for the industry, completes our move into this vitally important market,” said Lionel van der Walt, President and CEO of Americas, PayCargo.
“We believe this is the first dedicated online CAD freight payment platform in Canada and that it will provide significant benefits for Canadian industry stakeholders, from the small-to-medium enterprises right up to the big players.”
Online payments have become particularly critical during the Covid-19 outbreak, as the global supply chain has had to alter how business is conducted, as workforces adapt to homeworking and social distancing has become standard policy.
The pandemic has also highlighted how unsuitable using cash, checks, vouchers and traditional POS terminals are, and the value of digital payments.
Among the companies already registered to start using the service are DHL Global Forwarding, DSV, Air-City, Airtime Express, Cargo Airport Services Canada, COSCO Shipping Lines, ECU Worldwide Canada, Menzies Aviation, OOCL, Overseas Container Forwarding, Overseas Container Logistics, Thompson Ahern & Co, Total Express, Shipco Transport, Vanguard Logistics Services, and Yang Ming Shipping.
Users already registered in the PayCargo system and currently processing USD payments in Canada have to register separately to use this new CAD service.
A very innovative solution, GEODIS Countbot, is a stabilized automated system that includes a drone and is able to do inventory and inventory control. Inventory can be done in real time, without human intervention other than a supervising operator and without any special equipment.
GEODIS Countbot is the result of over three years of R&D and testing to create a reliable automated inventory service that does not require any additional stationary equipment inside the warehouse and is totally safe, protecting both people and property.
Built by both DELTA DRONE, specialized in civilian drones for professional use, and GEODIS, international leader in transport and logistics, this new service revolutionizes warehouse inventory: “Inventory is a time-consuming activity and can be risky for humans, requiring operations to be shut down and the rental of personnel lifts. With GEODIS Countbot, inventory can now be carried out quickly, automatically and safely,” explains Romain Cauvet, global engineering director, GEODIS.
In terms of performance, the first assignments performed in real time, in a 10,000 sq m warehouse, suggested an inventory time at under three hours instead of the one to two days it used to take. The solution combines a robot, a telescopic mast that can reach up to 10 metres and a drone that ensures the stability and therefore the quality of the images collected. It has been the subject of several patent applications.
Sixteen high-resolution cameras are positioned along the mast. The unit moves automatically through the aisles, following trajectories entered beforehand in the robot’s memory thanks to an initial full mapping of the site. As it moves, the cameras photograph the pallet barcodes end detect anomalies, if any. All the data are then reported to the WMS (Warehouse Management System).
From an operational and commercial standpoint, the partners plan to deploy the solution progressively to many warehouses throughout the world, whether or not they are GEODIS warehouses. In Europe, sales of the systems will benefit from the support and existing network of Ott Ventures, Delta Drone’s new reference shareholder, representing close to five million square metres in warehouse space and industrial sites located in various countries, in particular, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands and Russia.
Tigers has launched a new dedicated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) section on its eShop, powered by its freight portal SmartHub:Connect.
The global logistics and transportation company has also released new software updates for SmartHub:Connect, giving customers shortcuts to buy and process documentation for the shipment of PPE.
Tigers is also managing the door-to-door transport of five million medical masks from Guangzhou in China, to Sydney, Australia.
The masks are travelling on a total of four A33C charter flights operated by China Southern Airlines, with the first 1.2 million safely delivered last week.
“It is important to be able to adapt to a changing landscape and keep freight moving, whatever the challenge,” said Andrew Jillings, Tigers’ Chief Executive Officer.
“Our technology focus and our investment in SmartHub:Connect means that we are able to offer customers a reliable and tested platform which streamlines purchase orders while interfacing with their entire sales processes.”
The Tigers PPE Portal was launched in the wake of spiking demand for products to help fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tigers’ IT partner Doozee has introduced a new module to its instant quote engine which caters for volumetric traffic enabling Tigers to provide instant quotes for the shipment of PPE.
“The freight industry has been working hard to help move medical and personal protective equipment to where it is desperately needed, in the face of a shipping landscape that changes multiple times a day,” said Scott Deerwester, Founder of Doozee.
“We have responded to that by developing and releasing features that we are confident will make life easier.”
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