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Small rise for Changi Airport

broker progrAmme iS ok: bACA

CArdiff lAunCheS Air djibouti

inStAbility deSpite good growth

keeping the CArgo SAfe

The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals

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CHANGI AIRPORT’s unpredictable monthly cargo volumes this year con-tinue after it saw a rise of 1.6 per cent in April compared to 2014.

The airport handled 153,400 tonnes in April, which was an increase on the 151,100 that it handled in that month last year. The April figure is a decline on the 162,700 tonnes that was pro-cessed in March, which was a 4.2 per cent year-on-year (YOY) fall on 2014.

April’s volumes were up on Febru-ary, when the airport handled 136,000 tonnes, which was a 7.3 per cent YOY rise on the second month of last year. April was about the same level as Jan-uary, when Changi handled 150,300 tonnes, which itself was a one per cent YOY increase.

The airport has handled 603,900 tonnes of cargo in the first four months of 2015, which is a one per cent rise on the 597,900 tonnes in the same period in 2014. Changi assistant vice president for cargo and logistics devel-opment, James Fong, says: “We have also seen a good growth in April for perishable shipments, with an increase of 6.4 per cent over the previous year.”

Most of Europe’s top 10 busiest airports by air-freight volumes saw increases in April, but Paris and Amsterdam saw significant falls, according to the Airports Council International (ACI) Europe.

The figures for the month were published by the airport trade body as part of its April traf-fic report for the continent. Frankfurt Airport, which is the biggest by volume, saw a slight year-on-year (YOY) rise of 0.4 per cent to 163,618 tonnes.

Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport was likely have been affected by the air traffic strikes that took place across France in April. The airport saw the most significant decline of any of the continent’s leading cargo hubs, a YOY fall of 7.9 per cent to 146,414 tonnes.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol saw a fall of 4.3 per cent to 128,842 tonnes. Last year, Air France-KLM Martinair announced plans to reduce its freighter services from Schiphol, which is likely be having an impact.

Heathrow Airport continues to grow its vol-umes the most consistently of Europe’s busiest cargo hubs. The airport saw a YOY rise of 2.2 per cent to 122,879 tonnes. Figures are likely to have been boosted by Vietnam Airlines moving from Gatwick Airport in March.

Cologne-Bonn Airport, which handled 61,830 tonnes, a 0.3 per cent YOY fall while Lux-embourg Airport, which processed 60,585, a YOY rise of 0.4 per cent. Istanbul Ataturk Air-port saw a YOY increase of volumes by 4.8 per cent to 64,988 tonnes. Belgium is on the upward

trend and the biggest winner of the continent’s busiest airports in April was Liege Airport, which saw a 20.4 per cent YOY increase to 54,485 tonnes as its focus on freighter carriers continues to pay dividends. Brussels Airport continues to see monthly surges and it saw a 6.4 per cent rise to 39,132 tonnes in the month.

ACI Europe says the European airport net-work as a whole saw growth of 0.8 per cent in April compared to the same month last year. April’s YOY figures were up on March when volumes fell YOY by 1.8 per cent, but down on the YOY growth of 2.9 per cent in February, and up on January when volumes saw a 0.5 per cent YOY fall. ACI Europe director general, Olivier Jankovec, says the outlook remains positive.

Slowing demand sows fearsM

omentum has slowed in the air cargo industry despite volumes increasing in April

compared to the same month in 2014, the International Air Trans-port Association (IATA) says.

The association released data for airfreight global markets on Thurs-day 4 June, which showed a global 3.3 per cent year-on-year (YOY) rise in freight tonne kilometres (FTKs) for the month.

IATA explains that while there was growth in April, compared to the fourth month of 2014, there has been no actual growth in aggre-gated global cargo volumes since last year. In line with a recent weak-ening in world trade growth, April data showed a slowdown from increases in the first quarter of 2015 which averaged 5.3 per cent. IATA says, despite a cyclical pick-up in the global economy, acceleration in trade and airfreight demand is unlikely in the near term as busi-ness confidence and export orders are flat or declining. IATA’s director general and chief executive officer,

Tony Tyler, explains after a volatile start to 2015, the market is settling down, but it is clear that, “momen-tum in airfreight growth is being lost.”

“First, there is the structural challenge of world trade no lon-ger expanding at a faster rate than domestic production. Layered on top of that trend we now see a weakening of economic indicators in the crucial air cargo markets of Asia Pacific and Europe,” Tyler says. Asia Pacific airlines saw FTK growth slowdown in April, but FTK still grew by 4.5 per cent. Growth slowed as trade for emerging Asian markets was down 10 per cent, and

the region has been affected by a slowdown in exports to Europe. Middle Eastern airlines saw FTK growth of 14.1 per cent, due to increased trade within the region, along with network and capacity expansion, which grew 18.5 per cent.

North American carriers saw flat demand and FTK was up by 0.1 per cent. FTK in Europe fell by 0.3 per cent and IATA says improvements in European business confidence have yet to be reflected in volumes.

In Africa, FTK fell by 0.2 per cent as the region continues to be affected by the weak Nigerian and South African economies. Latin

America saw the biggest FTK fall of 6.8 per cent; although the asso-ciation is optimistic the decline will soon end. In April, IATA says the global cargo capacity measured in available freight tonne kilome-tres (AFTK) increased by 5.5 per cent, which drove the freight load factor down to its lowest figure for the past 12 months at 44.7 per cent.

For the first four months of 2015, FTK grew by 4.3 per cent, AFTK was up 4.9 per cent and the freight load factor was 45.3 per cent.

Tyler urges a kick-start to trade by reversing protectionist trade measures, implementing the Bali trade facilitation agreement and commitments to help facilitate trade in emerging markets. He concludes that after a brief opti-mistic period, the global outlook for cargo shows that once again the business is stagnating. “The good news is that with digital processes, new standards for pharmaceutical handling, and a focus on reducing end-to-end shipment times the air cargo industry is well-placed to stage a recovery,” Tyler says.

ACi: europe’s top ten airports see steady rise

Volume: 18 Issue: 22 8 June 2015

NEWSWEEK

RIOgaleao Cargo is to invest $6 million by 2016 to upgrade the cargo terminal at its Rio de Janeiro Tom Jobim Interna-tional Airport.

The airport’s operator, which took over the gateway in August of last year, says the revamp will focus on improving infrastruc-ture and equipment to increase operating performance. RIOgaleao Cargo says that since it begun operations, it has reduced the average cargo clearance time at Tom Jobim by 20 per cent through changes made to operational procedures and the replacement of equipment such as the age-ing fleet of forklifts.

In May, the airport inaugurated a new 11,000 square metre pharmaceutical centre with two different temperature environments. The new facility has a fully automated storage system, expediting operations and aims to improve cold chain

cargo handling. Tom Jobim is one of the primary gateways for the pharmaceutical industry in Brazil and RIOgaleao says the centre has added much needed capacity.

RIOgaleao director of cargo, Patrick Feh-ring, says: “We have tripled our capacity to serve the pharmaceutical industry, which represents today 20-25 per cent of our cargo terminal’s overall revenues.”

Fehring says Tom Jobim has joined

the International Air Transport Association’s Center of Excellence for Independent Validators Pharma certifica-tion programme. “This certification will help us ensure our storage and handling of pharmaceutical products complies with the best operating practices and regula-tions adopted by the international market,” he explains.

Fehring adds: “Our aim is not only to guarantee the quality of services offered and the integrity of the cold chain, but also to reduce logistics risks and costs for our customers.”

RIOgaleao Cargo is also upgrading its exports terminal and investing in a new facility to host the rapidly growing domes-tic cargo business. The operator is ramping up security and a project to install a new closed circuit television system with 140 cameras as well as improved access con-trols and perimeter security is on its way.

2 ACW 8 JUNE 2015

$6 million terminal spend by RIOgaleao Cargo

Siemens spins out parcel firm

AIR FRANCE-KLM MARTINAIR (AF-KL-MP) has published pho-tos of its 22 million euro ($24.6 million) SoDExI hub express facility.

The new hub provides 41 container stands, 10 bulk stands, 19 standby stands and a 300 metre parcel sorter. The open-ing of the SoDExI express handling facility at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport represents, “the future pattern for the compa-ny’s share of the fast growing e-commerce market,” AF-KL-MP says. Cross-border e-commerce is expected to grow by 192 per cent by 2018 at an anticipate value of $307 billion. SoDExI is the express handling arm of AF-KL-MP cargo, funded in equal parts by SoDExI, express parcel delivery firm GeoPost and a bank loan. AF-KL-MP head of cargo, Bram Graeber, stressed the importance of information technology for control of the new facility. “Because we can track shipments right through the sys-tem, we will reduce costs and increase efficiency. Should we need to increase capacity in the future, we could add more sec-tions to the existing structure. We will target those high yield sectors such as express and pharma.”

Express hub for AF-KL-MP

LOGISTICS AND AIRPORT SOLUTIONS has become an inde-pendent company under the name Siemens Postal, Parcel & Airport Logistics (SPPAL).

The technology logistics firm, which develops mail, parcel and baggage handling systems, continues under the Siemens umbrella.

SPPAL says the independence is a, “decisive step,” to en-sure the company’s stability, and its chief executive officer, Michael Reichle, says he is pleased it now has the necessary flexibility to shape its future.

“We are doing everything we can to seize opportunities in the fast growing parcel and airport markets. In doing so, our focus is always on maximising customer benefit,” Reichle adds.

As an independent company, SPPAL says it is now structured so that it can operate more quickly and efficiently in a com-petitive environment dominated by medium-sized companies.

SPPAL explains that it has a sound financial footing to strengthen its market position and adds through the takeover of AXIT it has been able to significantly expand its market po-sition in cloud-based logistics IT.

The firm’s customers include large international airports as well as postal and parcel service providers worldwide.

NEWSWEEK

3ACW 8 JUNE 2015

DHL is to invest $108 million to expand its Americas hub at Cincin-nati Northern Kentucky Airport, to cope with rising volumes of interna-tional e-commerce and global trade.

It will provide more gates for additional air-craft, warehouse space and new equipment to provide more capacity for sorting shipments and loading and unloading. DHL says the expan-sion at Cincinnati airport (see picture, provided by Wikipedia user Nebraska12) should be com-pleted by the end of 2016. The company says this will bring its total investment in Cincinnati to $280 million since DHL started operations there in 2009.

DHL Express Americas chief executive officer (CEO), Stephen Fenwick, says: “The expansion and service enhancements from this investment will provide additional infrastruc-ture and efficiency. This in turn will support the continued growth in international shipments

that we’re seeing.” In the first quarter of 2015, the DHL Group’s net profit fell to 495 million euros ($541.3 million) from 502 million euros during the same period of 2014. This is despite revenue increasing from 13.5 billion euros to 14.7 billion euros in the first quarter of 2015. DHL’s airfreight revenue increased by 11.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2015 to 1.3 billion euros.

Airfreight volumes increased by 0.3 per cent to 935,000 tonnes in the first quarter of 2015 from 932,000 tonnes for the same period of

2014. For DHL Global Forwarding as a whole, revenue increased by 7.6 per cent to 3.8 billion euros in the first quarter of 2015.

When announcing its first quarter results, DHL launched its Strategy 2020, which it says focuses on three areas. The areas are described as, a focus on existing strengths, enhanced quality through improved interconnectedness and expansion through new growth drivers. DHL CEO, Frank Appel, says the company is to focus on e-commerce. He says: “We want to be the global market leader in logistics for e-commerce.”

This year, DHL announced it was to invest 114 million euros in a hub at Brussels Airport, capable of handling 39,500 shipments per hour. In March, it revealed plans for a South Asia hub at Changi Airport. The Changi facility will cost 85 million euros, will be capable of handling 14,000 shipments an hour and should be opera-tional by the first quarter of 2016.

US GOVERNMENT’S Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing fining CTC Battery $63,000 for alleged haz-ardous materials violations on a UPS flight to Tampa (US) in 2013.

The FAA alleges that on 25 April 2013, CTC Battery, based in Hayward (US), offered an undeclared shipment of four 12.8 volt rechargeable lithium ion (li-ion) phosphate batteries to UPS. The FAA claims the shipment was not accompanied by shipping papers indicating it contained hazardous materials, nor was it marked, labelled or pack-aged in accordance with hazardous material regulations. CTC Battery, it is alleged, did not provide emergency re-sponse information or provide employees with hazardous materials training. The FAA says it has been in contact with the firm about the case. CTC Battery says it provides li-ion batteries from its manufacturing facility in Asia. It is part of Farais Energy, which describes itself as the developer and manufacturer of, “advanced lithium ion battery energy stor-age systems.” Since the start of 2015, a number of airlines including American Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Qantas have banned the shipment of li-ion batteries.

FAA proposes battery fine

$108 million to expand Cincinnati Airport DHL hub

FEDEX says it is to accelerate its aircraft retirements by retiring 15 freighters and 21 related engines.

The integrator will retire seven McDonnell Douglas MD-11s and 12 related engines, one McDonnell Douglas MD-10 and three related engines, three Airbus A300s and three related engines, and four Airbus A310-300s and another three powerplants. FedEx announced the move on 1 June and says it is part of its strategy to rationalise capacity and modernise its fleet. FedEx says it has made the decision to, “more effectively serve FedEx customers”.

The integrator adds that the impact of retiring these air-craft, engines and related parts has resulted in a non-cash impairment charge of $246 million, which it has recorded in its financial figures for May 2015.

FedEx also adds that it has adjusted the retirement schedule of an additional 23 aircraft and 57 engines. This was recognised in its May 2015 financial figures along with the $30 million in cash charges associated with these ac-tions. These combined retirement changes it claims will not have a material impact on near-term depreciation expense.As of 28 February, the FedEx fleet totaled 673 aircraft.

In April, FedEx had a takeover bid of 4.4 billion euros ($4.8 billion) for Dutch courier firm TNT Express accepted by TNT. The deal is subject to European regulatory approval.

FedEx explained at the time that buying TNT will help it transform its European capabilities. FedEx intends to fi-nance the offer by using available cash resources and through existing and new debt arrangements. Both compa-nies say they anticipate the offer will close sometime in the first half of the 2016 calendar year.

Faster freighter cull at FedEx

WorldNewsIJS GLOBAL has opened an office at Zurich Airport to help customers in the healthcare, life sciences and phar-maceutical industries in the region. Katharina Tyrakowski has been made general manager for Switzerland, mov-ing from the role of customer services manager for pharma at the Frankfurt (Germany) office. IJS says the Zurich office will help develop its Time Critical Solutions product.

AUTHORISED service contractor for UPS in Qatar, Gulf Warehousing Com-pany, has opened its new office in the country. The new customer centre for UPS will operate from Saturday till Thursday between 7am and 7pm. UPS has four other locations in the country, with branches at the Qatar financial centre and in the Doha industrial area.

NEWSWEEK

4 ACW 8 JUNE 2015

Broker programme is OK: BACA

BALTIC AIR CHARTER ASSOCIATION (BACA) has officially endorsed a new version of the the Argus International certified charter broker programme for Europe.

The Argus broker programme is for au-diting and complying with industry best practices and regulations. Argus Interna-tional provides data and information to the aviation industry. BACA endorsed in 2014 a previous version available in the US. Argus now has two European-based auditors available to conduct audits for a European charter broker programme.

The programme has two levels of recog-

nition, registered and certified. A registered broker provides documented proof of re-quirements and has an annual pledge commitment to adhere to best practices and regulations. A certified broker does this and undergoes an on-site audit once every two years to prove compliance. BACA chairman, Tony Coe, says: “Being very fa-miliar with Argus and their charter operator rating and TripCHEQ [company credential check] programmes, we were very intrigued to learn more about their certified charter broker programme.”

Argus chief executive officer, Joe Moeg-genberg, says: “Argus has tremendous respect for BACA’s reputation and influ-ence in the air charter brokerage industry, and we feel honoured to receive their endorsement.”

BACA deputy chairman, Volker Meissner, says: “When Argus approached us to ask if they could use the BACA code of practice as the annual pledge commitment by their participating charter brokers, as required by their programme, we felt confident that our priorities were aligned with Argus.”

F reight Transport Association (FTA) has given its support for runway expansion at Heathrow Airport in an open letter to the UK’s prime minister (PM) David Cameron.

In the letter sent on 2 June, the FTA explains to the PM the importance of airfreight not being overlooked when options are considered for creating new airport capacity in South East England. He also outlines how vital it is for the UK to have a global hub airport.

The UK government’s Airports Commission will give a recommendation later this year on where airport capacity should be expanded. The options are to build a third runway or extend a runway at Heathrow or construct a second run-way at Gatwick Airport. FTA chief executive, David Wells, says in the letter that airfreight represents over 40 per cent of UK imports and exports by value, and plays a “crucial” role in the supply chains of many UK businesses. “FTA

is concerned that the importance of airfreight is being overlooked. It is a common misconcep-tion that air cargo is a minor traffic used only for very high value or urgent items. In actual fact, 80 per cent of freight is carried in the holds of scheduled passenger aircraft using Heathrow Airport,” Wells says.

The FTA’s Sky High Value report published last year, claims Heathrow is a critical hub for air cargo as it serves 191 destinations, moves 1.5 million tonnes of freight and is vital for UK connectivity to its main overseas markets.

The association says Heathrow is operating at 98 per cent capacity and needs to be expanded to meet the needs of industry. “On behalf of FTA’s members I have written to the prime min-ister telling him that the decline of Heathrow as a viable global cargo hub will increase the costs of freight and logistics across the UK. Gatwick does not possess the infrastructure to handle the volumes of cargo required,” Wells adds.

Give Heathrow a runway says FTA Welsh: GSF to champion airfreightAIRFREIGHT is essential for the global econo-my, but is often overlooked as aviation focuses on passenger and business travel, according to the Global Shippers Forum (GSF).

In a document called, The value of air cargo to the global economy, the GSF says that for many business sectors, such as high end manufacturing and pharmaceuticals, airfreight is essential. It says that sea freight from Eu-rope to Asia can take up to a month, which for time-sensitive products such as medicine and documents is not viable.

GSF secretary general, Chris Welsh, says: “The importance of airfreight to the global economy is often overlooked, with the focus almost exclusively centred on passenger and business travel. Aviation is a key enabler of global economic growth and social develop-ment, and GSF aims to champion the value of airfreight.”

It says airfreight represents two to three per cent of freight tonnage worldwide, but up to 40 per cent of imports and exports by value in advanced economies. GSF says that towards the end of 2014 economies were slowing down with the exception of the US, while Chi-nese growth was the slowest it had been in 25 years and Eurozone countries have been weak.

The Forum adds that growth was largely confined to the Americas and the Far East, while regions such as the Middle East and

Australia were stagnating. The GSF says that though aviation is perceived to be environ-mentally damaging, the industry is taking steps to reduce emissions. It says air trans-port represents two per cent of global carbon emissions and that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is aiming at car-bon neutral growth from 2020, average fuel efficiency increases of 1.5 per cent by 2020 and halving carbon emissions by 2050, com-pared to 2005.

The Forum also says the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has iden-tified areas for reducing emissions. ICAO will decide at its annual assembly in 2016 how to implement measures of key concern from 2020. The key concerns are, how to measur-ing emissions, the best use of revenue, what countries need to take part and how to ensure good coverage, while taking into account the needs of developing markets.

The GSF is a member of the Global Air Cargo Advisory Group (GACAG). Through GACAG, GSF has jointly endorsed electron-ic cargo programmes, known as e-cargo or e-freight. In 2012, GACAG published an e-car-go roadmap which GSF endorsed and which the group said would help industry implement the electronic initiatives. The other members of GACAG are IATA, the International Federa-tion of Freight Forwarders Associations and The International Air Cargo Association.

NEWSWEEK

6 ACW 8 JUNE 2015

Cardiff launches Air DjiboutiAIR DJIBOUTI says it is on track to launch cargo operations later this year, which adds another carrier to the African market.

The Republic of Djibouti airline has se-cured aircraft to begin services in late 2015. It is expected to announce later this year de-tails of freighter operations.

The government of Djibouti established Air Djibouti in February this year to support the development of the country as a regional hub for commercial and logistics services. It claims the East African market is worth $1 trillion.

The carrier will add passenger flights next year, and to support this launch, the airline last week signed a memorandum of under-standing (MoU) with Cardiff Aviation. Cardiff Aviation will implement and manage a Eu-ropean-level airport operators certificate for Air Djibouti, source aircraft, and provide op-erational, maintenance repair and overhaul and management support.

Air Djibouti chairman, Aboubaker Omar Hadi, explains: “The government’s strate-gy for Djibouti and one of its Vision 2035 pillars is the development of the country as a regional logistics and commercial hub for trade in East Africa.

“The MoU signed with Cardiff Aviation brings Djibouti not only one-step closer to having a flag carrier, but to achieving this long term strategic objective. We are look-ing forward to seeing the outcome of this agreement to boost Djibouti’s international

appeal and promote economic growth.”Cardiff Aviation chairman, Bruce Dickin-

son (see picture), says Djibouti is, “uniquely placed,” to provide a hub for investment from Europe, the Middle East and Asia into Africa. Dickinson, also lead vocalist for rock band Iron Maiden, adds that it is one of the most exciting aviation markets in the world and a region with tremendous potential.

Running alongside the launch of Air Dji-bouti, the construction of two new airports is taking place in Djibouti at Hassan Gouled Aptidon International Airport and Ahmed Dini Ahmed International Airport. Between them they will handle more than two million passengers and 100,000 tonnes of cargo.

The government of Djibouti says it intends to replicate its work in port logistics in the aviation sector. The two new airports and an additional four ports will create a sea-air cargo network. Djibouti’s transport and lo-gistics infrastructure investment programme exceeds $14 billion.

New AND expANDeD routes

qATAR AIRwAys has announced that Philadelphia (US) will be the first destination itwill fly its first Airbus A350 eXtraWideBody (XWB) to in the USA. Qatar will start operat-ing an A350 XWB on its daily service from Hamad International Airport to Philadelphia International Airport from 1 January 2016. The date will coincide with the launch of services using other aircraft types to Los Angeles (US), one of three new Qatar Airways destinations in the US for 2016.

vIRGIn ATlAnTIC CARGO began daily flights between London and Detroit (US) on1 June using an Airbus A330 with 16 tonnes capacity in both directions. Detroit isVirgin Atlantic’s 11th US destination. Detroit is Virgin Atlantic’s second US destinationin the last eight months, following the addition of Atlanta to the network in October 2014. A second daily London to Atlanta service started at the end of March.

TnT has launched a route between its main European air hub in Liege (Belgium) and Malta. The flight will run five times a week on a Boeing 737-400 with a stopover inMarseilles on both outbound and inbound journeys. The flight arrives at Malta Interna-tional Airport in the morning and departs in the evening.

Air Seychelles Cargo has started an airfreight service for shippers want-ing to send valuable cargo in a more secure manner.

The airline launched SafeGuard on 1 June, and explains it has been designed for customers who need to import or export high-value goods, such as banknotes, precious metals and stones, and jewellery.

Air Seychelles Cargo says that airfreight sent using the service is transported in special sealed boxes or containers, depending on vol-ume, and is stored in locked areas, which can only be accessed by authorised staff.

For additional security, shipments are

escorted by security personnel during loading and offloading, and monitored around the clock, with closed circuit television surveillance at key points. Notifications are also sent to customers to update them on the status of their shipments.

Air Seychelles chief executive officer, Manoj Papa, says: “The launch of SafeGuard provides our customers with a fast and secure solution for sending precious and high-value cargo. It is designed around our customers’ needs and demonstrates our commitment to innovation in Air Seychelles (picture from Magnus Man-ske). “As part of this culture, we introduced a chiller and freezer service for perishable goods in 2014, and a cost-effective option for sending shopping and personal items called the Sey-chelles Box this January.”

SafeGuard shipments can be sent to more than 60 destinations across the combined Air Seychelles Cargo and Etihad Airways Cargo networks.

On 29 May, Air Seychelles added an Airbus A320 to its fleet under the Seychelles civil air-craft register, with the aircraft making its first commercial flight that day and landing at Sey-chelles International Airport.

Valuable business for Seychelles

NEWSWEEK

7ACW 8 JUNE 2015

PANALPINA is to acquire Afifi Group, which it has used as its agent in Egypt for 20 years, to help its growth in the Mid-dle East and Africa.

Panalpina says it sees growth potential in Egypt, particu-larly in the oil and gas industries, capital projects, telecoms, automotive and healthcare sectors. The two companies agreed on 28 May that Panalpina would acquire 100 per cent of Afifi for an undisclosed sum, subject to conditions. Afifi employs 150 staff at its three offices in the country, in Cairo, Alexandra and Sokhna. The Afifi Group is made up of three companies, Afifi Air Cargo, Afifi World Transport and Afifi Logistics International.

Panalpina regional chief executive officer for the Middle East, Africa and Commonwealth of Independent States, Peter Triebel, says: “Now political reforms are under way to strengthen the economy and improve the investment climate. Add a freight forwarding market that is very frag-mented, and we have ample opportunity for growth.”

In January, Panalpina opened new offices in Casablanca (Morocco) and Nairobi. At the time it said Morocco present-ed opportunities in industries such as energy, automotive, aerospace and healthcare. Panalpina also said at the time that Morocco would give it better access to countries such as Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

Panalpina buys into Egypt

FAST LOGISTICS SOLUTION GROUP (FLS Group) is to merge its freight forwarding companies, Fast Forward Cargo and First Priority Cargo into Fast Logistics from 1 July.

The group says Fast Logistics will employ 600 staff across 40 offices across the Unit-ed Arab Emirates (UAE), Africa and Asia. It says all international freight forwarding offic-es will be rebranded to Fast Logistics, and the headquarters for this will be in Bangalore (India). Fast Logistics will have five 25,000 square metre warehouses across the UAE, and will handle 50,000 tonnes of airfreight annually.

FLS Group chief executive officer (CEO), Peter Scholten (see picture), says: “By merg-ing the two companies into Fast Logistics we will eliminate internal competition and further strengthen our market position. With the new international division headquartered

in Bangalore we aim at expanding our office network in India, Saudi Arabia and several countries in Africa.”

FLS Group was founded in January 2015 as the holding company for Fast Forward Cargo, First Priority Cargo and Fast Forward Solutions. It appointed Scholten as its CEO, who had been vice president for commercial

at Saudi Airlines Cargo since October 2010.The group has 40 offices worldwide, including five in Asia, in the Indian cities of Hyderabad, Mangalore and Mumbai and the Chinese lo-cations of Guangzhou and Hong Kong, with a further 15 in the UAE and 20 in Africa.

In 2014, FLS Group generated $200 mil-lion revenue with airfreight volumes of about 45,000 tonnes.

Fast Forward Cargo was established in 2009 and uses its UAE base to connect airfreight in West Africa, through Lagos (Ni-geria). First Priority Cargo was founded in 2013 and provides airfreight services to Ban-gladesh, Chad, Congo, Ethiopia and Sudan from the UAE. In Africa, FLS Group has 20 offices including, Brazzaville, Bukavu, Goma and Lubumbashi (all Democratic Republic of Congo), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Enugu, Kano, Lagos (all Nigeria) Kampala, Kigali, Lusaka.

Bangalore HQ for reformed Fast Logistics

ETIHAD CARGO has launched a service in partnership with the World Cargo Alliance (WCA) and IT firm Worldwide In-formation Network (WIN).

The carrier says the online platform will offer instant pric-ing for all online Etihad origins and destinations, e-booking, electronic air waybills (eAWB) and track and trace.

Etihad Cargo explains that it will apply to WCA members who are also members of its loyalty programme, CargoCon-nect, and use the WIN e-platform, for all booking and eAWB transactions. The airline has launched the online service so it can provide customers with special rates for selected ori-gins and destinations on its network.

Etihad Cargo vice president, David Kerr, says: “Part of our continuing growth story will be underscored by our ability to meet the needs of our customers, in a rapidly evolving cargo market, whether they are a large multi-national company or a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME). By continuing to develop our partnership with the WCA network...we can continue to meet the needs of our growing customer base.”

Membership of CargoConnect is free and members get special pricing as a WCA member. Users earn Etihad guest miles for all cargo shipped on the airline. Miles can be used to redeem against flights, upgrades or products from the airline’s online rewards shop.

CargoConnect rewards companies for every booking made and is targeted at the SME segment of the airfreight in-dustry. It is built on a similar platform to the Etihad guest frequent flyer programme.

Etihad teams with WCA for WIN

WorLdNewsAIR CHARTER SERVICE has completed more than 50 charter flights into and out of Kathmandu, with more booked over the coming weeks. Kathmandu is the only international airport in Nepal and is relatively small, meaning that only a few aircraft can fly in at any one time. Landing permits and overflight permissions have taken up to four days to be processed.

JACK SO CHAK-KWONG became chair-man of the board of Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) on 1 June. On his first day, So met with AA management and visited the Hong Kong government’s civil aviation department air traffic con-trol complex. So will oversee further progress towards the construction and operation of Hong Kong International Airport’s third runway which is planned to be operational by 2023.

ACW 8 JUNE 2015 8

J ust a year after its foundation, the Air Cargo Community Frankfurt (ACCF) is setting a target for Frankfurt Air-port of handling three million tonnes annually by 2020 as it seeks to both

consolidate and extend the airport’s position as a major European air cargo hub.

The ACCF is a 27-member association of companies, institutions and organisations rep-resenting all areas of the air cargo supply chain at Frankfurt which was set up in May 2014. It had six founding members, with start-up funding from Lufthansa Cargo and Frankfurt Airport owner, Fraport. The ACCF’s other mem-bers include, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, IJS Global, Russian cargo carrier AirBridgeCargo Airlines, Emirates SkyCargo and Chapman Freeborn. From these 27 mem-ber organisations, 60 people are participating in working groups. The groups are tackling sub-

jects such as, temperature controlled transport, location marketing and community building, and processes and optimisation. The ACCF’s key successes to date includes reducing the time needed for presentation to customs at Frank-furt from 45 to 30 minutes, which followed an intensive dialogue with customs and subse-quent introduction of digital processing. “The customs example clearly shows what is possi-ble when all concerned come together on the neutral platform of the association and jointly contribute their know-how,” says Andreas Heil, vice-president of customs and compliance solutions Kewill, a supplier of transportation management and supply chain software, and member of the ACCF board. “We also see it as clear proof that the digitalization in our indus-try still has enormous potential in terms of saving valuable time and money.” ACCF mem-bers believe the creation of a fully integrated

freight process across all interfaces will deliver significant economic benefits for airlines as well as handlers, freight forwarders, other service providers at the location and airfreight custom-ers. Transparency is one of the keys to success, according to ACCF chief executive officer (CEO), Joachim von Winning. “It serves the purposes of quality assurance, because processes and pro-cedures become understandable,” he says. “It also ensures that projects and developments take place in the interest of all parties. And, last but not least, it represents the basis for mutual trust, especially towards business partners.”

IJS Global Frankfurt branch manager, Chris-toph Schneider says Frankfurt is already setting a leading example in terms of overall reliability. “The quality of an airfreight location is often reflected in how reliably difficult or special transports are handled, and it is precisely in this area where Frankfurt is ideally placed.”

Emphasis is now being placed on consol-idating the complex area of pharmaceutical shipments. The ACCF also intends to introduce a performance capacity measure for Frankfurt to show how quickly and efficiently it operates in comparison with other major airports abroad and to gain insights as to where additional opti-misation opportunities exist.

Frankfurt set its own new record for freight handling at the end of 2014 after posting an annual cargo volume of more than two million tonnes, representing a year-on-year increase of more than two per cent.

Fraport confirmed its growth expectations to shareholders during its annual general meeting at the end of May. It expects to record continued growth during 2015, partly down to the lower global oil price which helps the German econ-omy in general and gives cost advantages to airlines.

Fraport CEO Stefan Schulte told his share-holders that the previous year had seen rising worldwide demand for mobility, driven pri-marily by growing markets in Asia. “Frankfurt benefited from this positive momentum with cargo volumes reaching 2.1 million tonnes and should maintain its position as the most import-ant air cargo hub in Europe,” he stated.

However, German handling agent LUG remains slightly more pessimistic about the prospects in

the coming months based on its prediction that oil prices will recover slowly from lows at the start of this year of around $55 a barrel coupled with continued uncertainty over the stability of the Chinese economy. “It’s not a year to panic, but it is also not one for big hype,” says LUG managing director, Patrik Tschirch.

Earlier this year Fraport Cargo Services (FCS) took over cargo operations for Chinese carrier China Southern Cargo. It took respon-sibility for handling five weekly freighter turnarounds between the airline’s home airport in Guangzhou (China) and Frankfurt. FCS says it expects to handle an annual freight volume of around 70,000 tonnes for China Southern Cargo. “We are proud that China Southern Cargo has demonstrated its confidence in our exper-tise and professionalism in the field of cargo handling,” said FCS managing director, Diana Schöneich.

AirBridgeCargo Airlines has also extended its cargo handling contract with FCS, building on a partnership which started in 2008. Since then, both partners have faced a number of challenges, which have been successfully met by offering high flexibility, top standards, qualified staff and customised solutions.

Further indication of Frankfurt’s on-going determination to develop and improve was illustrated earlier this spring with the opening of a new truck parking lot at the airport’s Car-goCity South. It provides more than 70 parking spaces available 24 hours a day for vans, trucks, and semi-trailers immediately behind airport gate 31. Holistic is a much used word in industry, but in Frankfurt its air cargo community is actu-ally taking such an approach with its collective action to reduce customs times and transition to an integrated digital operation.

Planning makes perfectAIR CARGO FRANKFURT REPORT

Benchmarking

SCHULTEFrankfurt benefitted from this positive momentum with cargo volumes

Africa is one of a handful of regions consistently post-ing solid airfreight growth, but it remains an unstable and challenging market for operators.

The International Air Transport Association forecasts volumes in the continent will grow by 4.5

per cent in 2015, and around 4.4 per cent every year until 2020.South African Airways (SAA) Cargo’s general manager, Tleli

Makhetha, tells Air Cargo Week (ACW) the carrier has maintained its cargo performance in the last 12 months by achieving eight per cent of total revenue, in line with the previous year, but 2015 has been a tough year so far. “We are experiencing a sluggish per-formance year-to-date due to the decline in exports, however on the inbound the performance has remained on the upward tra-jectory,” he explains.

Makhetha is positive about future growth in Africa, where he says there is enormous potential: “Africa is on the rise in terms of development and has over the past few years experienced consis-tent growth while other economies were declining.” In his view, Africa has become very attractive for foreign investment due to political stability in many countries. Makhetha says SAA Cargo, is seeing growth into Europe and some African markets, in particu-lar Southern and Western Africa, as intra-African trade increases. Cargo shipped is mainly general consumables, pharmaceuticals, perishables and electronics. In Kenya, Kenya Airports Authority commercial manager for cargo, William Simbah, explains to ACW that in 2014 volumes reached 259,143 tonnes, up six per cent on the 245,060 in 2013. After the first four months of 2015, volumes are up 5.7 per cent. “This is altogether not unexpected given the challenges the industry has been experiencing arising from a changing market environment. Today, established markets in the world have imposed certain requirements some of which are not achievable in the short run. We expect a marginal improvement of about 6.5 per cent this year over the previous year.”

Africa has seen export growth in flowers, fresh produce, fish and meat products, Simbah explains, which are exported to Europe, the Middle East and Far East. Simbah points out that exports make up 80 per cent of tonnage in Kenya, and there is now strong demand from China, Russia and the US. Imports are mainly manufacturing goods, pharmaceuticals, electronics, tex-tiles and raw materials. In Simbah’s opinion, South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia and Ghana will see the strongest growth, as they have fairly politically stable economies and supportive governments.

Airfreight development will not be achieved unless more cargo infrastructure is built. Simbah tells ACW countries have, “woken up,” to the fact that infrastructure development is a key catalyst in air cargo growth. “Many airport authorities are today engaged in capacity building through infrastructure enhancement. Johannes-burg [South Africa], Nairobi, Kigali, Addis Ababa, Cairo and other

airports are undertaking major expansion of their facilities and it is expected in the next five to 10 years capacity will be more than doubled.” Ethiopian Airlines announced last month it is to invest $36.5 million in a cargo terminal at Addis Ababa Bole Interna-tional Airport. The airline says it will handle dry products and fresh goods, such as meat, flowers, and salads. Once completed it will be the largest cargo terminal in Africa and process 600,000 tonnes a year. Ethiopian says it plans on further expanding the facility so it can handle 1.2 million tonnes. The Airports Com-pany of South Africa plans on developing infrastructure and Leipzig Halle Airport, is helping it set up a cargo department. O.R Tambo International Airport has a specialised cargo divi-sion, which will be copied by airports. By 2025, O.R Tambo says it is aiming to be handling one million tonnes a year, up from the 400,000 now.

Improved connections will also help Africa grow its market and Simbah says better infrastructure will lead to more route devel-opment to absorb the new capacity created. SAA Cargo added a freighter route from O.R Tambo to Abu Dhabi International Airport on 29 March. Makhetha explains the carrier is looking at

more routes it can add and where there is more capacity demand, it will add frequencies to make use of its freighter network. Other active carriers in Africa are Turkish Cargo, which added its 10th freighter destination on 18 May with a weekly service into Dakar. Qatar Airways Cargo now operates freighter services from Brussels Airport into Uganda twice a week and Ghana once a week. There will soon be another player, as Air Djibouti, the Republic of Djibouti’s new carrier, will begin freighter operations in late 2015. The airline will support the country’s plan to be a regional logistics hub in East Africa. Infrastructure is also being built in Djibouti. Construction of two airports continues at Has-san Gouled Aptidon International Airport and Ahmed Dini Ahmed International Airport.

Africa faces challenges to achieve forecasted growth, Simbah warns: “African countries suffer many challenges, restrictions imposed by the developed world which affects market access, high costs of production and financing.”

Africa’s airfreight market looks set for sustained future growth as new opportunities open up and intra-African trade increases, but the operating environment is unpredictable.

Exports fuelling growth

AFRICA REPORTInstability despite good growth

9ACW 8 JUNE 2015

SIMBAH

The potential for air cargo growth is huge, but African countries suffer many challenges

ACW 8 JUNE 2015 10

S ecurity screening could see a move to centralised monitoring of multiple scanning systems for the detection and identification of possible threats, but ongoing regulation development

means the future picture of this freight analysis is still not clear. Working out how to prevent ter-rorist attacks while not impeding the flow of air cargo is the challenge.

Incidents such as the Yemen bomb plot of 2010, when explosives were transported on two aircraft inside printer cartridges shows the lengths terrorists will go to, to hit a target. Legislation resulting from such incidents poses challenges, as authorities could make knee jerk reactions, not thinking about how the air cargo industry is going to work around its decisions.

At the seventh Air Cargo Europe exhibition and conference in Munich (Germany) on Wednes-day 6 May, security and the use of advance data was discussed during the second session at the

conference. For the past four years, regulations and industry have been collaborating on the use of shipment data to conduct the security risk analysis following the Yemen 2010 incident. The analysis will eventually result with targeted shipment screening instructions issued to car-riers or forwarders. With that comes a need for new and improved screening technology.

Rapiscan Systems vice president global mar-keting and strategy, Andrew Goldsmith, says: “We know that terrorists have attempted to place explosive devices in air cargo and we know that terrorists are willing to make repeated attempts to attack a target, even if their initial attempts are thwarted.”

Goldsmith tells Air Cargo Week (ACW) the air cargo industry has worked with regulators and security agencies, which has made the business safer, but the number of different companies involved in the supply chain is a challenge. “Any given air cargo shipment may have a complex

global supply chain of custody, each part of which needs to be vetted and secured before cargo can be placed on a plane.” Morpho Detec-tion strategic accounts manager for air cargo, Jennifer Haigh, says it has been working on its advanced explosives trace detection (ETD) sys-tems to screen cargo. Haigh tells ACW: “Morpho Detection has a dedicated air cargo programme manager who is heavily involved with the air cargo community, including the regulators to help our client make sure our solutions meet not only their regulatory requirements, but also our clients operational needs.”

Associations have been a part of the process to make the air cargo industry safer and more secure, without impeding the flow of goods. In April, The International Air Cargo Associ-ation (TIACA) published a position paper on pre-loading advance cargo information (PLACI), saying it provided an additional layer of security.

TIACA secretary general, Doug Brittin, said at the time that the association was encouraged by the collaboration, but there was more to do. “Much work remains to be done to ensure all of these programmes work together, especially with the USA and EU [European Union] moving toward formal regulation quickly.”

TIACA also said at the time that the proposed data set to be used for advanced data systems was sufficient for risk assessments, but added that it needed to make it easily accessible for small and medium forwarders. The data set consists of eight elements: the number of pieces, total weight, general cargo description, shipper name, shipper address, consignee name and consignee address, and the air waybill number. It is expected to be incorporated into the World Customs Organization’s Secure and Facilitate Global Trade, or SAFE, framework of standards this month.

In April, Brittin said: “PLACI regulations must take into account the fact that industry is providing data to the best of its knowledge.” Goldsmith says Rapiscan works with regulators and customers so it knows about forthcoming legislation and how this will affect business. He

explains to ACW: “Although we are known for our screening technology, we have regulatory and operational experts who work with custom-ers to design solutions.”

Security is to remain an ever present issue for the air cargo industry, so what does the future hold? Goldsmith tells ACW he expects to see a greater emphasis on data sharing and integration. He says: “We believe that through integration of data, automations of inspection processes, and automation of regulatory report-ing, all air cargo companies can significantly improve their productivity.”

Goldsmith is predicting the use of security management systems, which he says is being rolled out at airports and allows for clear audit-ing of security processes. He adds: “From a technology position, we expect to see a move towards centralised screening hubs for image viewing regardless of where the pallet is physi-cally screened, and for smaller parcels and mail, a move towards more automated detection technologies.”

Haigh tells ACW she is also expecting integra-tion to be important for the future. “Advanced technologies will continue to be integrated into the screening process. While traditional x-ray systems only project an image, ETD sys-tems will detect and identify specific explosive threats.”

Security is of great importance to the indus-try, and it has improved in response to threats. As Haigh says: “The biggest concern in cargo security is keeping the supply chain safe while keeping the cargo moving.”

Keeping the cargo safeSECURITY REPORT

More collaboration needed

goldsmith

Any given air cargo ship-ment may have a com-plex global supply chain of custody

Freight Forwarders

11ACW 8 June 2015

TRADEFINDER

Turkey

Airlines

United Arab Emirates

Italy

Industry Events

Iraq USASpain

Cargo Handling

United Kingdom

Associations

Worldwide United Arab Emirates

Charter Brokers Freight Forwarders

NEWSWEEKTrade zone to boost Edmonton

Edmonton International Airport is to have a foreign trade zone (FTZ) introduced, which is expected to boost cargo volumes by reducing trade barriers for businesses in and

out of Canada.FTZ has been set up by the Western economic

diversification Canada (WD), a federal govern-ment department focusing on development. According to Edmonton, an FTZ is a strategic

location identified for international trade and foreign direct investment. The airport says firms from the Edmonton area, as well as in Western Canada and Northern Canada, will benefit and it will boost foreign investment. Edmonton is seen as a key transportation and supply chain hub for the energy, manufacturing and industrial sectors in Western Canada. The airport’s president and chief executive officer, Tom Ruth, says: “We are very grateful to WD for this boost to trade in our region. This FTZ will increase our ability to integrate transportation assets with major sectors such as energy, man-ufacturing, agriculture and health sciences, which will drive our region’s job creation and attract air service.”

Edmonton has been developing its cargo volumes, which grew by 3.9 per cent in 2014 and have grown over the last five years by 25 per cent. DHL has launched a new service to Edmonton and FedEx has a daily freighter ser-vice to Memphis (US).

AVIANCA CARGO is to use Descartes’ Cargo 2000 cloud based software to comply with the International Air Trans-port Association (IATA) Cargo 2000 (C2K) quality standards.

Descartes says its Cargo 2000 software will help Avianca Cargo monitor shipments at a master air waybill level and provides the reporting required to be IATA C2K compliant. It says the software will provide information on data reporting and trade lane performance, exception alerts and validations, route map creation and reports on the lifecycle of shipments.

Descartes sales director for Europe, Middle East and Afri-ca, Jan Markill, says: “We’re pleased to help Avianca Cargo continue to offer its customers outstanding service and look forward to further expansion of our relationship with Avianca Cargo.”

Avianca Cargo uses Descartes’ global air messaging gate-way, which the IT firm says standardises and automates connectivity to trading partners, monitors shipments’ status and communicates updates to forwarders and consignees. Descartes says global air messaging gateway and Cargo 2000 make up its global logistics network for multimodal data exchange.

In the first quarter of 2015, Descartes made a profit of $4.9 million, up 32 per cent from $3.7 million in the same period of 2014. Throughout 2014, profit fell to $3.6 million in the second quarter, rising to $4.2 million in the third quarter before dropping back to $3.6 million in the fourth.

Avianca invests in Cargo 2000

Volumes fall a fraction for DeltaDELTA AIR LINES has seen cargo ton miles (CTM) contract by 0.1 per cent between January and May due to volumes falling year-on-year (YOY) in each month from March.

Year-to-date, CTM fell to 911.4 million from 912.4 million in the same period of 2014. May has seen the worst drop, falling by 8.1 per cent YOY to 182.7 million. April had seen a YOY fall of 1.7 per cent to 180.2 million and March was down by 1.5 per cent to 198.1 million.

The year had started strongly, with CTM in January increasing by 3.1 per cent YOY to 172.4 million and February rising by 9.9 per cent to 178 million. Between January and March, CTM had been up 3.4 per cent com-pared to 2014. The airline says it has been affected by, “foreign exchange pressure.”

In the first quarter of 2015, cargo revenue remained the same at $217 million. This was

down on the fourth quarter of 2014, when cargo revenue was $243 million. In the third quarter, cargo revenue was $244 million and in the second it was $230 million. For 2014 as a whole, cargo revenue dipped slightly to $934 million from $937 million in 2013. When announcing its 2015 first quarter re-sults in April, it said the cargo revenue had remained the same because of lower yields cancelling out higher volumes.

At the time it also announced it would cut international capacity at the end of 2015 in markets affected by low oil prices and the strong US dollar. This will include suspending Moscow services and reducing services to countries including Brazil. On 6 June, Delta started four times a week services between Stockholm and New York (US) using a Boeing 757-200. On 3 June, it started daily New York to Copenhagen flights also using a 757-200.

New cargo centre managamentSTOCKHOLM ARLANDA AIRPORT’s cargo centre and Gote-borg Landvetter Airport north and south cargo terminals are to be managed by a joint venture formed by airport operator Swedavia and Swedish pension specialist and asset man-agement firm, Alecta.

The joint venture has yet to be given a name. The agree-ment, signed on 2 June, includes 20 properties over three airports, including Malmö Airport. The deal is worth 3.9 billion Swedish kronor ($457 million). Hangars and offices will also be managed across the three airports by the joint venture.

According to the Airports Council International Europe, Arlanda saw volumes increase by 10.5 per cent to 22,646 tonnes between January and April 2015.

During the same period Landvetter saw volumes fall by 42 per cent to 3,799 tonnes. Malmo was up by 13.7 per cent to 8,678 tonnes.

Swedavia chief executive, Torborg Chetkovich, says: “We are naturally very pleased to have Alecta as a partner. The collaboration gives us a stable foundation on which can con-tinue to work and invest in order to develop our international hubs and thus enhance Swedish access.”

Swedavia operates 10 airports in Sweden, Are Ostersund Airport, Bromma Stockholm Airport, Goteborg Landvetter Airport, Kiruna Airport, Lulea Airport, Malmö Airport, Ron-neby Airport, Stockholm Arlanda Airport, Visby Airport and Umea Airport.