Brussels—Representatives of shipping companies and Customs authorities from across the globe came together in June to discuss ways to step up the fight against drug trafficking.
The Conference was organized by the World Shipping Council (WSC) and the Container Control Programme (CCP), which is a joint initiative between the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Customs Organization.
According to the UNODC 2021 World Drug Report, around 275 million people worldwide had used drugs in the last year, while over 36 million people suffered from drug use disorders. The resilience of drug markets during the pandemic has once again demonstrated traffickers’ ability to adapt quickly to changed environments and circumstances, with recent developments including increasingly large shipments of illicit drugs, as well as a rise in the frequency with which overland and waterway routes are being used for trafficking.
The goal of the Conference was to counter these developments by enhancing relationships and communications between the ocean liner industry and Customs officials. The Customs authorities of Ecuador, Panama, Belgium, Netherlands, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Turkey, India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States presented their challenges and successes, sharing information on drug traffickers’ ability to abuse the ocean liner link in the supply chain and the tactics they employ.
WSC member carriers provided insights into the everyday operations of the ocean liner industry and the strategies and procedures employed to prevent crime, as well as opening lines of communication to build relationships with Customs authorities.
Several recurring themes emerged during the Conference, most prevalent of which were the need for greater transparency of information on container shipment data, the need for cross-training efforts between Customs authorities and liner carriers, and the need to identify and remove insider threats. WSC, WCO and UNODC are very proud of the work done, and are confident that the relationships built in Brussels will result in new and enhanced efforts to combat the illicit drug trade.
“Narcotics are a scourge for societies across the globe, destroying lives, families and communities. Liner carriers will not tolerate having their services abused by criminals, and WSC is committed to supporting the Customs community with insight into ocean liner industry operations, providing open communications and exchanging information to combat drug traffickers,” said John Butler, President & CEO of World Shipping Council.
“The UNODC and the WCO look forward to working with the WSC and its member shipping lines on training and awareness-raising activities. We need to sensitize each other to understand how we can work together for the benefit of us all, and increase the likelihood of detecting illegal shipments, while at the same time facilitating legal trade,” said Norbert Steilen, WCO CCP Senior Coordinator.
Ketil Ottersen, UNODC Head of CCP, added: “The team in charge of managing the CCP and all the 123 units created at ports across the world are committed to further developing the dialogue with the shipping industry to tackle the misuse of legitimate commercial transport by criminal organizations”.
This Conference has brought together the best minds in the field, and WSC, WCO and UNODC will build on this network of people to enhance the fight against the illicit drug trade.
DUBAI, UAE—dnata, a global provider of aircraft ground handling, cargo, travel and flight catering services across five continents and part of the Emirates Group, is pushing sustainability to the core as it is targeting to replace all its vehicles, diesel units, and GSE equipment with electric ones to become carbon neutral, reduce general cost and maintenance cost.
dnata has set up e-Apron, a sustainability zone, at the 21st edition of Airport Show at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), providing opportunity for electric/hybrid Ground Support Equipment (GSE) and Ground Handling Equipment (GHE) manufacturers to showcase their latest innovations.
“Reducing the carbon footprint is a key target for dnata as a world-leading air and travel services provider at 129 airports. We expect exhibitors from across the world to be joining the efforts to make their operations sustainable to ensure a better future,” said Raed Younes, Vice President for UAE and Regional Business Development at dnata.
Across Dubai and Jebel Ali there are about 30,000 equipment, like motorised and non-motorised trolleys, 124 hybrid cars and thousands of tractors. Dnata has started replacing them with electric ones as well as exploring to convert the heavy-duty tractors with electric units.
Exhibitors at the e-Apron are Cobus Industries, which is showcasing its electric bus for service at airports, Kalmar Motors, a Sweden-based world leader in technology for towbarless handling of aircraft and Electric and Hybrid power technology, The UK-based Midstream Lighting, Colibri Energy, a German
company that helps airports and ground handlers maximize efficiency through lithium technology, ADB SAFEGATE, one of the world’s leading providers of integrated solutions for safer, more efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft movements, and TLD.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of Etihad Aviation Group, launched its revamped online booking portal in October 2021 as part of the carrier’s ongoing digitalisation strategy.
In the six months since its launch, the booking portal has attracted a surge in new users and bookings, with 45 per cent of all bookings being made via the portal in April 2022. Etihad Cargo is confident portal bookings will reach 50 per cent of all the carrier’s bookings in the coming months.
India ranks first with 95.8 per cent adoption, with Hong Kong and China recording 95.4 per cent and 89.6 per cent, respectively. There has also been an increase in new countries, including Vietnam, using the booking portal, demonstrating the portal’s popularity across geographies.
The online booking portal offers Etihad Cargo’s customers a more streamlined booking process that requires minimal data entry. This has enabled users to create and confirm bookings within 45 seconds. Development was based on a close collaboration with partners and customers to ensure it meets their evolving requirements. It offers in-demand features, such as booking templates and auto-suggestions for similar bookings.
Martin Drew, Senior Vice President – Global Sales & Cargo, said: “Since the launch of the new online booking portal, Etihad Cargo has added several new features that have made creating and confirming bookings easier and faster than ever before. The enhanced look-to-book feature and the addition of a dynamic newsfeed and personalised dashboards have created a more intuitive process, which has resulted in higher quality booking data and a reduced need for booking modifications.
“The digitalisation journey has not stopped there. Etihad Cargo has also launched a Mandarin version of its website and, more recently, a Mandarin version of the new online booking portal, effectively removing the language barrier for Etihad Cargo’s customers in China – a key market for the carrier.”
Following the successful launch of the new online booking portal and positive customer feedback, Etihad Cargo is developing new customer-focused features in line with a wider digitalisation strategy. In Q2, Etihad Cargo’s customers will be able to create permanent bookings, enabling them to complete seasonal and bulk bookings with just a few clicks. Later in the year, the carrier will add online booking capabilities for more products and commodities while enhancing its analytics capabilities.
DUBAI, UAE—The 21st edition of the annual Dubai Airport Exhibition, the largest annual airport event in the world, concluded successfully as it received response from the industry exceeding expectations despite the multiple challenges facing the civil aviation sector worldwide.
A majority of exhibitors confirmed their participation in the exhibition next year, which will be held in May 2023. Exhibitors and participants said was an opportunity to meet, make deals that gave strong impetus to the global airport industry, amid high growth rates achieved by passenger traffic worldwide during the past six months. As it is, the Show was held amidst clear indications of rebound of growth in aviation industry.
Organised by RX Global (Reed Exhibitions), the world’s largest airport industry B2B platform has had a sharp focus on sustainability to help the airport community in achieving a more sustainable airport industry that is aiming to reduce carbon footprint year on year.
The Airport Show displayed products and services from over 150 exhibitors from more than 20 countries along with more than 5,000 trade visitors and experts from the aviation industry. The organisers said there were 100 hosted buyers and 33 entities from 18 countries. The Show facilitated 3,556 business meetings.
Firas Abu Ltaif, Exhibition Manager at RX Global (Reed Exhibitions), said: “The participation and response from exhibitors from across the world was beyond our expectation especially when the event was organized after the pandemic-induced disruption in the aviation industry. It is heartening that a majority of exhibitors and participants confirmed that they will participate in the 2023 edition of Airport Show. We expect a much more participation next year when the aviation industry will be fully recovered.”
The Airport Show was supported by Dubai Airports, Dubai Police, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), dnata (part of Emirates Airline and Group), Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP), Global Air Navigation Services (GANS) and Dubai Air Navigation Services (dans).
Participants have reported they could explore collaborations and joint ventures and several companies have signed sizable deals with prospective partners.
Khalid Ahmed Bamugabil, Senior Specialist with Saudi Airlines, said Show was “‘fantastic’ and could network with many vendors for new products which will help us in the future to boost business and service.”
DTP and ADVEEZ announced that they have entered a strategic partnership, combining DTP’s pioneering airport operations systems and regional expertise with ADVEEZ’s industry-leading ground handling telematics and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to digitalize and improve the efficiency of airport aprons in the region.
Mohammed Salah, Trade Analyst with Italian Trade Agency, said 28 companies from Italy participated in the Show and reported signing deals with their counterparts from across the aviation industry.
Markus Vogler, Sales Manager Verkaufsleiter, Trepel Airport Equipment GmbH, Germany, said the 2022 edition is much better than the pre-Covid edition. “We have been participating at this show many years in the past and this time we had more number of meetings and inquiries than the previous editions. Attending this show helped us reconnect with our existing clients and make new ones.”
Rohit Nambiar, Business Development Manager, Tele Networks International, who had participated in a couple of previous editions of the show, said this time he found it extraordinary. “We had several meetings in the last three days and hope these meetings and networking will benefit our business.”
The Airport Show and its co-located events Airport Security Middle East, ATC Forum and the Global Airport Leaders’ Forum debated ways to tap into new growth opportunities and overcome current challenges for airports. They also discussed aviation industry’s efforts towards sustainable and collaborative airport infrastructure development and operational transformations.
London, UK—Leading global air and travel services provider, dnata, has inaugurated a new, state-of-the-art cargo centre at London Heathrow Airport (LHR), designed to seamlessly handle increasing demand for reliable and safe air cargo services in the UK.
Part of the company’s ‘dnata City East’ complex, the bespoke facility further increases dnata’s capacity at LHR. Its expansion makes it the largest off-site cargo handling operation at the UK’s largest commercial aviation hub. The new, 10,500 m² facility (‘Phase II’) was designed to operate in conjunction with dnata City East’s existing 22,500 m² facility (‘Phase I’) which opened in September 2019.
dnata will handle all air freight of Virgin Atlantic Cargo and Delta Cargo at dnata City East. Exports will remain at dnata’s Phase I facility while the new Phase II facility will cater for all imports, offering the airlines significantly increased handling capacity.
Located immediately south of LHR, both dnata City East facilities were specifically designed to accommodate the operational requirements of dnata and the two airlines. They incorporate the latest carbon reduction initiatives in design and operation, including the use of solar PV panels, air-source heat pumps and electric vehicle charging. dnata City East has already achieved a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ environmental rating for its design stage, with the same status also expected to be achieved for the construction process.
Including dnata City East, dnata now offers cargo services from eight facilities at LHR with a team of over 750 highly-trained employees, all of which bringing high-end cargo handling infrastructure and services for over 30 international airlines at one of the world’s leading cargo destinations. In 2021 dnata handled in excess of 500,000 tons of cargo in London.
“We are excited to announce the completion of dnata City East, a truly world-class facility. Our newest cargo complex offers bespoke solutions, industry-leading technology and enhanced cargo capacity supporting our customers in achieving sustainable growth at the UK’s busiest airport,” said Alex Doisneau, Managing Director of dnata UK (Airport Operations).
“We thank Virgin Atlantic Cargo and Delta Cargo for their support, loyalty and trust in our services. We continue to go the extra mile to consistently provide the highest level of service and safety across our operations, every day.”
Philip Wardlaw, Managing Director of Virgin Atlantic Cargo, commented: “As we continue to work with our joint venture partner, Delta Cargo, we have further strengthened our performance targets and commitment to our customers. That is why we couldn’t be more thrilled to benefit from this incredible facility, which allows us to give outstanding customer experience at one of the largest off-site cargo handling operations at London Heathrow.
“The opening of the import facility comes at a time where we have extended our cargo handling contract with dnata for a further five years, signaling our continued strong and highly valued partnership.”
Vishal Bhatnagar, Managing Director – Cargo Operations, Delta Cargo, said: “Our UK cargo operation, in partnership with Virgin Atlantic, is a critical part of our global network. The opening of this dnata facility furthers our ability to provide customers with a one-stop experience to pick-up and deliver shipments for both partners – making it easier to do business with us. We are grateful for this facility expansion and value our strong, continued partnership with Virgin Atlantic Cargo and dnata, as it sets us up for great success in this market.”
In recent years dnata has significantly invested in advanced infrastructure, equipment and cutting-edge technologies, cementing its position as a leading air cargo services provider in the UK. In addition to its expansion at LHR with its fifth greenfield build, the company’s recent investment includes the opening of dnata City North, a new cargo complex at Manchester Airport (MAN). The on-airport facility includes 11,500 m² warehouse space and is capable of processing in excess of 150,000 tons of cargo a year.
Having added seven facilities, including six new builds, to its infrastructure over the past eight years, dnata now operates 13 cargo centers at six airports in the UK. The company is able to handle more than 800,000 tons of cargo annually across the country.
In recent years, dnata has also made strategic investments in new cargo facilities in Karachi and Lahore (Pakistan), and additional cargo capacity and infrastructure in Brussels (Belgium), Sydney (Australia) and Toronto (Canada). It is also investing over €200 million in its operations in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and operate one of the world’s largest and most advanced cargo facility, dnata Cargo City Amsterdam, at Schiphol Airport.
dnata provides quality and reliable ground handling, cargo, catering and retail services at over 120 airports in 19 countries.
PARIS: Air France-KLM says it has decided to convert into a firm order the Letter of Intent it signed in December 2021 for the acquisition of 4 Airbus A350F full freighter aircraft – with purchase rights for an additional 4 planes for Air France.
These aircraft will be operated by Air France and be based at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, the airline’s global hub, equipped with a state-of-art 14,000 square meters cargo terminal.
In the context of a steady and sustainable growth of demand for air cargo, Air France-KLM continues to bolster its world-leading network built around the powerful Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol hubs. These aircraft will increase Air France’s cargo capacity, which currently consists of 2 Boeing 777F, supplementing the belly capacity of the airline’s 100+ wide-body passenger aircraft.
The Airbus A350F full freighter provides the most advanced technology and efficiency standards. Compared to previous generation aircraft, it offers 11% more volume while enabling a 15% reduction in fuel burn and CO2 emissions, notably thanks to its reduced weight and efficient Rolls Royce engines. It will therefore play a key role in shaping the future of Air France-KLM as an industry leader in sustainable air cargo transportation.
Air France-KLM will be among the launch operators of the A350F full freighter. This order comes with full substitution rights to Airbus A350 passenger aircraft, which constitute the new flagship of Air France’s long-haul fleet. The airline currently operates 15 of the 38 aircraft of the type on order.
As of December 31, 2021, Air France-KLM operated a fleet of 505 aircraft to over 300 destinations worldwide.
“This order embodies Air France-KLM’s determination to strengthen its position on the buoyant cargo business,” said Benjamin Smith, CEO of Air France-KLM. “The Airbus A350 passenger version has been instrumental to the improvement of our economic and environmental performance, while proving to be a passenger’s favorite. We are thrilled to be among the launch customers of its freighter version, which will significantly increase our capacity and give us the means to continue to provide the best service to our customers around the world.”
Copenhagen, Denmark—Leading global shipping firm, Maersk, launched a new airfreight airline, Maersk Air Cargo, in a bid to serve its clients with integrated logistics on land, sea and air.
Maersk said Denmark’s second largest airport, Billund, will be its air freight hub for Maersk Air Cargo. With daily flights creating several jobs in the region, the company says it will enter into an agreement with the Flight Personnel Union (FPU) which is a part of the Danish Confederation and Trade Unions.
Aymeric Chandavoine, Global Head of Logistics and Services, A.P. Moller – Maersk, said: “Air freight is a crucial enabler of flexibility and agility in global supply chains as it allows our customers to tackle time-critical supply chain challenges and provides transport mode options for high value cargo. We strongly believe in working closely with our customers. Therefore, it is key for Maersk to also increase our presence in the global air cargo industry by introducing Maersk Air Cargo to cater even better for the needs of our customers.”
The new air freight company is the result of the existing in-house aircraft operator, Star Air, which has transferred activities into Maersk Air Cargo, the new carrier supporting existing and new customers and Maersk’s end to end logistics. The process of transferring activities has received excellent support from customers, suppliers, employees and the Danish Civil Aviation Authority.
Maersk last operated from Billund in 2005. From the continent, Maersk Air Cargo says it will progressively deploy and operate a controlled capacity of five aircraft – two new B777F and three leased B767-300 cargo aircraft.
Three new B767-300 freighters will also be added to the US-China operation, which will be initially handled by a third-party operator. The new aircraft are expected to be operational from second half 2022 and onwards up to 2024.
Miami, FLORIDA—Amerijet International Airlines has replaced its legacy cargo system with SmartKargo’s cloud-based system which offers scalability and greater efficiency as well as a streamlined user experience.
The new online system enables the airline’s customers greater flexibility to view prices, capacity and make real-time bookings. Digital transformation and automation have been in the forefront of Amerijet’s vision to provide its customers with digital innovation every step of the way.
“The new cargo system will bring efficiencies to Amerijet and its customers, and with SmartKargo we will provide not only a streamlined user experience for our forwarders and direct cargo customers but also reliable access to our capacity, and real time data at every step of the distribution journey,” said Tim Strauss, Amerijet’s Chief Executive Officer.
Using the new online system, Amerijet’s customers can access capacity throughout Amerijet’s global freight network anytime, anywhere. Customers can use the new platform by accessing their existing Amerijet MyCargo suite at www.amerijet.com.
Abu Dhabi, UAE – Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of the Etihad Aviation Group, posted a record revenue growth of 49 percent in 2021, continuing to outperform expectations with a 27 percent year-on-year increase in freight carried, contributing towards 55 percent of the Group’s revenue, the company announced.
“2021 was a milestone year for Etihad Cargo,” said Martin Drew, Senior Vice President Sales & Cargo, Etihad Aviation Group. “The Etihad Cargo team has worked closer than ever with partners and customers to address their demands and allocate necessary capacity, resulting in a record tonnage of 729,200 tons – the highest since 2017.”
In Q1, Etihad Cargo temporarily modified five Boeing 777 aircraft to support cabin-loaded cargo, operating more than 800 charter and scheduled cargo flights in the new configuration in 2021, adding capacity along key strategic routes. By mid-2021, Etihad Cargo had announced the recovery of more than 90 percent of its network compared to pre-COVID.
In total, the carrier operated more than 6,000 passenger freighters throughout the year, with freighter utilization averaging 16.5 hours.
Premium products have also seen remarkable growth: PharmaLife, the carrier’s award-winning pharmaceutical shipment solution, achieved an 85% increase in revenue in 2020, while FreshForward, for transporting perishables, increased by 26 percent. With the relaxation of travel restrictions, SkyStable, the carrier’s dedicated equine transportation solution, grew by 28 percent, and SafeGuard, for transporting valuables, increased by 103 percent compared to 2020.
Over the past year, Etihad Cargo continued to facilitate critical COVID-19 vaccine distribution which contributes to 30 per cent of its pharmaceutical shipments. Jointly with its partners at the HOPE Consortium, over 250 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been handled to over 40 countries.
In addition, several initiatives have been launched to facilitate the distribution and to position Abu Dhabi as a pharmaceutical and live science hub including establishing the first pharmaceutical distribution corridor between Abu Dhabi and Belgium. The corridor will facilitate the quick delivery of vaccines and meet future life science needs. The carrier is also working in tandem with UNICEF to transport aid globally following the signing of a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the UN agency’s Humanitarian Airfreight Initiative.
PARIS, France—Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has extended its cargo handling partnerships with Turkish Airlines in North America Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston.
In Dallas, WFS has commenced handling services for the airline’s four Boeing 777 passenger flights to Istanbul. The new contract at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport will begin in March and will see the local WFS team handle 3-4 freighter flights per week plus daily B777 passenger services to the Turkish city. WFS already holds a freighter ramp handling contract with the airline in Houston.
Overall, WFS expects to handle some 31,000 tons of cargo per annum for Turkish Airlines at the two airports.
“We are pleased to expand our relationship with Turkish Airlines in North America, where we also provide passenger handling services in Chicago. These contracts extend our existing cooperation in Houston, while Dallas/Fort Worth is a new station for WFS to provide service to Turkish Airlines. Our local teams are proud to have earned the trust of one of the world’s leading cargo carrying airlines, and we look forward to growing our partnership to other locations in the near future,” said Mike Simpson, Executive Vice President Americas at WFS.
WFS handles over 245,000 tons of cargo annually for airline clients in Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston and provides warehouse and freighter ramp handling at both airports. WFS’ acquisition of US handler, Pinnacle Logistics, in September 2021 has also added road feeder services to its portfolio, connecting Dallas and Houston and other major cargo gateways in North America.
Technology has made the world smaller and faster.Real time communication with people from all over the world at different time zones through phones and gadgets
