JEDDAH/SHANGHAI: Saudia Cargo has expanded its robust cargo network with the addition of Shanghai to its flight schedules that began on August 15, using a Boeing 777 freighter, which has a 95-ton capacity.
Saudia Cargo now operates two flights a week to Shanghai—Saturdays and Tuesdays—originating from Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport.
The Saudi national air freight carrier’s network expansion was in response to the growing demand for air cargo capacity, according to reports issued since last March.
Using charter flights booked by Saudia Cargo clients, the company has so far transported over two million kilograms of medical and pharmaceutical supplies required for facing the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to other millions of other life-saving cargoes needed at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Saudia Cargo CEO Omar Hariri said the company took proactive and practical steps to ensure the continuity of cargo operation to the Kingdom through non-stop charter flights despite the challenges COVID-19 posed.
The company, he added, operated 29 unscheduled all-cargo flights from Shanghai International Airport to the Kingdom to meet the growing demand for cargo.
“Saudia Cargo’s high-level flexible schedules enabled it to respond swiftly to the increasing demand for cargo during the suspension of flights. We enhanced the charter flight services while our teams conducted an in-depth analysis of markets and order rates, which helped in the decision-making process for the network,” said Hariri who also expressed gratitude to the dedicated Saudia Cargo teams who performed their jobs despite the virus threat.
In July, Saudia Cargo operated over 1,500 flights, of which 500 were done using passenger aircraft dedicated for international cargo operations. This, as part of the company’s efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Saudia Cargo transported 75,000 tons of life-saving cargo including medicines and medical equipment to the Kingdom from March to June 2020, in support of the Kingdom’s health efforts towards fighting COVID-19.
GENEVA: The global airline industry’s debt could swell to $550 billion by year’s end making recovery more difficult, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) pointed out in its latest analysis.
About $67 billion of the new debt is composed of government loans ($50 billion), deferred taxes ($5 billion), and loan guarantees ($12 billion). Some $52 billion is from commercial sources including commercial loans ($23 billion), capital market debt ($18 billion), debt from new operating leases ($5 billion), and accessing existing credit facilities ($6 billion).
“Financial aid is a lifeline to get through the worst of the crisis without folding operations. But during the re-start period later this year, the industry’s debt load will be near $550 billion—a massive 28% increase. Government aid is helping to keep the industry afloat. The next challenge will be preventing airlines from sinking under the burden of debt that the aid is creating,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
In total, governments have committed to $123 billion in financial aid to airlines. Of this, $67 billion will need to be repaid. The balance largely consists of wage subsidies ($34.8 billion), equity financing ($11.5 billion), and tax relief/subsidies ($9.7 billion). This is vital for airlines which will burn through an estimated $60 billion of cash in the second quarter of 2020 alone.
“Over half the relief provided by governments creates new liabilities. Less than 10% will add to airline equity. It changes the financial picture of the industry completely. Paying off the debt owed governments and private lenders will mean that the crisis will last a lot longer than the time it takes for passenger demand to recover,” said de Juniac.
DUBAI: Emirates SkyCargo has expanded its weekly scheduled cargo flight operations to cover 75 destinations across six continents, enabling it to transport essential commodities and other urgently needed cargo more rapidly across the world.
The leading global air carrier said its expansion also allows exporters and importers across markets to benefit from direct access to widebody cargo capacity. Among the key destinations added to its growing network include Colombo, Conakry, Dakar, Dhaka, Dublin, Khartoum, Kuala Lumpur, Perth and Quito.
In addition, Emirates SkyCargo says it has also upped frequency of flights to several key destinations such as Amsterdam, Beijing, Bengaluru, Brussels, Chennai, Chicago, Frankfurt, Hanoi, Johannesburg and London allowing businesses more choice and flexibility in having their cargo shipped to customers and supplementing additional cargo capacity for the transport of urgent and necessary goods. It also operates charter flights in response to customer demand.
Since March 2020, Emirates SkyCargo has played an important role globally in the transport of urgently required medical supplies including personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves, pharmaceuticals, healthcare equipment, electronics such as laptops and mobile phones as more people around the world have turned to online working and learning, food items including fruits, vegetables, sea food and meat.
The carrier operated over 2,500 flights in the month of April. Currently Emirates SkyCargo is operating more than 100 flights a day from its hub in Dubai
MONTREAL: At least 72 airports across the world are reopening this month and through August ushering a window of opportunity for the crisis-stricken countries to recover from the lingering adverse economic impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Airports Council International (ACI) World, meanwhile, has published a comprehensive guidance for airports as they prepare to restart operations to assist them in sustaining a business recovery in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a systemic crisis resulting in unprecedented disruption to global air transport. ACI World estimates that, in 2020, airports will suffer a reduction of more than 4.6 billion passengers and decline in revenue of more than $97 billion U.S.
The UN specialized agency International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) said the following airports are scheduled to reopen between June to August—Lebanon, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Baghdad, Japan, Northern Macedonia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, South Korea, Ireland, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Norway, Slovakia, Australia, Belarus, Belgium, China, Sweden, Canada, Colombia, Kosovo, Malaysia, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Republic of Taiwan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Taiwan, Ukraine, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Algeria, Morocco, Philippines, South Africa, Georgia, UK, Kuwait, Libya, Cyprus, Russia, Bulgaria, Brazil, Armenia, France, Greece, Germany, Spain, Italy, Italy, Austria, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, USA, Switzerland, and UAE.
ACI says its publication Aviation Operations during COVID-19: Business Restart and Recovery provides best practice examples and guidance for the industry to restart and recover for what is now the “new normal” after the pandemic.
ACI World expects the return to business for the aviation industry to come in phases:
Any new measures that are introduced at airports will need to evolve through these phases until, eventually, the industry will arrive at “the new normal” in terms of the end-to-end passenger journey.
“COVID-19 has been an unprecedented global challenge, particularly to the aviation industry, with the quick spread of the virus resulting in governments rapidly restricting travel and closing borders to limit the spread,” ACI World Director General Angela Gittens said. “This has had a drastic and detrimental effect on airports worldwide and a variety of new measures could become a necessity at airports as the industry restarts.
“For airports, the focus is to protect the health and welfare of travelers, staff, and the public, to minimize the opportunities for dissemination of disease while maintaining efficient operations.”
Airports are not expected to use all the options provided in the document but it gives advice on implementing best-practice measures that might be appropriate, depending on local circumstances.
ACI has identified key principles to guide the implementation of practical, efficient, and workable health-related and operational measures. ACI believes that measures should be supported by medical evidence, should be risk-based and outcome-driven and that blanket on-airport health screening should be avoided.
In the implementation of measures, the guidance urges, there should be coordination between governments, clear definition of responsibilities and good communication to the travelling public. As well, it may be necessary to accelerate needed regulatory change.
“Collaboration, cooperation and consistency are key, first for the industry to successfully restart, and then for sustaining a balanced recovery,” Angela Gittens said. “ACI is a member of the ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Taskforce and we will continue to work with our global partners to advocate for the harmonization of measures, processes and procedures that are introduced as a result of COVID-19.
“Governments and industry regulators will need to ensure that any new processes that they require airports to introduce are adapted to changing data and medical evidence and ensure that they remain aligned with those deployed through other modes of transport and the wider society.
“To help airports navigate this changing landscape, this publication is intended to be a living document with chapters added or amended as additional information becomes available and each chapter can be read as a standalone document.”
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