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6

Boeing issues battery warning

CHANGI HASBIG AMBITIONS

DHL WARNS NEWCOLD CHAINS NEEDED

TOTAL COOL SUPPLY CHAINFOR CAL CARGO

GROWTH CONTINUES AT AIR CHARTER SERVICE

The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals

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BOEING has advised airlines not to carry large quantities of lithium-ion batteries as bellyhold cargo until improved pack-aging is developed.

The aircraft manufacturer has sent guidance to carriers urging them not to move the batteries as cargo “until safer methods of packaging and transport are established and implemented”.

Lithium-ion batteries have been blamed for the loss of a UPS McDonnell Douglas DC-8 in 2006; a UPS Boeing 747-400 Freighter in 2010 and an Asi-ana Airlines Cargo 747-400F in 2011. From 1 January, lithium metal batteries were restricted to freighters when by themselves.

The Rechargeable Battery Associa-tion (PRBA) says it shares Boeing’s goals of the safe transport of bulk shipments of lithium-ion batteries by air.

The PRBA adds it will be discussing with Boeing, other aircraft manufactur-ers, the airline industry and regulators at an International Civil Aviation Or-ganization meeting in late July “battery transportation issues, specifically a new and unprecedented lithium-ion battery standard and packaging criteria”.

AZura International, owner of Air Cargo Week, has introduced a major new data service on its azfreight.com website, featuring multimedia company listings for industry-wide freight for-warding companies.

Launched this week, the redesigned site includes featured listings, which now contain a description of the company, a map of its loca-tion, its contact details, its branch and global office information and background information on leading personnel.

Also included are corporate video content supplied by the company and news about any latest business developments.

This comprehensive array of useful informa-tion gives a far deeper picture of a company and helps to convey a positive image to any poten-

tial customer searching the database.AZura International chairman, William Carr,

says: “We are proud to introduce this important new service for the world’s airfreight indus-try. Companies now have real opportunity to

keep customers fully informed of all their latest developments.”

The featured listings are the latest innovation from AZura International, which has recently re-launched its Air Cargo Week website to pro-vide content on a daily basis.

A comprehensive picture of AZura Inter-national’s products can be found at www.azurainternational.com and please visit www.azfreight.com/demo for an example of the new listings.

Enquiries about buying a featured multi-media listing at a special introductory price of £240 ($384 or 360 euros), down from £360 ($576 or 540 euros) per annum, should be made to sales@azurainternational.com or by calling Kim Smith on +44 (0) 1737 645 777.

IATA: outlook for volumes positiveA

irline profit expec-tations for the year ahead have fallen but remain upbeat and the oulook for cargo

volumes is “positive”, according to a survey by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The association’s quarterly Air-lines Business Confidence Index July survey, which it published on Wednesday 22 July, canvassed the opinions of chief financial officers and cargo heads from carriers across the globe.

IATA says the survey found the rate of expected improvement in profitability over the next 12 months has also fallen in July com-pared to the April survey, which suggests improvements in key drivers might have “peaked earlier in the year”.

Respondents in the survey indicated to IATA that airfreight volumes during the last three months were expanding, but at a slower rate than earlier in the year in the first quarter (Q1).

The association explains that this is consistent with the data, which

shows freight tonne kilometres are still up on a year ago, but it adds that growth has flattened during recent months.

IATA says the outlook for cargo volumes “remains positive”, but 53 per cent of respondents expects gains in the year ahead, compared with 63 per cent in April.

“Expectations have weakened slightly on the back of slower growth in world trade over recent months with large declines in key markets like emerging Asia as well

as little improvement in business confident due to sluggishness in some emerging markets,” IATA explains.

IATA says that respondents in the July survey also indicated that cargo yields will decline in the second quarter (Q2) of this year and will fall during the year ahead, which was the same in the April survey.

But on a positive note, the asso-ciations notes the declines in yields have now “bottomed out” as they

are now stable compared to the Q1 survey. “There could be further declines in yields once hedging positions unwind, although some of those would already have done so, but the survey does not predict further falls than those anticipated in April,” IATA says.

The survey found that 44.8 per cent of respondents expect to see a fall in cargo yields over the next 12 months, while 17.2 per cent feel there will be an increase and 37.9 per cent expect no change in yields.

Respondents also report see-ing a decline in input costs in Q2 compared to a year ago, but at a slower rate than in Q1. The Q2 fall is a result of the drop in crude oil prices, which averaged $65 a bar-rel in Q2, 40 per cent down on the highs in mid-2014.

IATA says input costs are expected to decline during the year ahead, but not by as much as was anticipated earlier this year.

The survey also found airline employment activity has increased slightly in Q2, which IATA points out reflects the positive financial performance of carriers.

AZura International launches major online initiative

Volume: 18 Issue: 29 27 July 2015

NEWSWEEK

E VA Air has finalised a $1.5 bil-lion deal with Boeing for five 777 Freighters which will become the first to join EVA’s fleet and the first

delivered to Taiwan.Boeing announced an intent to order at

the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, France, last month. The freighters will join EVA’s fleet of Boeing 747-400 Freighters, Boeing MD-11 Freighters and bellyhold capacity.

“Airfreight is an important link in global trade,” says EVA Air chairman K.W. Chang. “We are investing in the most advanced aircraft and committing ourselves to con-tinuing to ensure an efficient and reliable service. Quality service and flight safety are our top priorities at EVA and we apply the same high standards to cargo ser-vices. We are determined to make EVA the world’s best airline for both passenger and cargo services.”

The 777 Freighter is the world’s largest and longest range twin-engine freighter, capable of flying 4,900 nautical miles (9,070 kilometers). The range translates into significant savings for cargo operators - fewer stops and associated landing fees, less congestion at transfer hubs, lower cargo handling costs and shorter cargo delivery times.

The airline plans to use the new freight-ers, which will be delivered between

October 2017 and September 2019 - to bolster its fleet on trans-Pacific and Asian routes in an effort to meet growing demand.

In April it launched EVA Pharmacare in collaboration with Envirotainer to carry pharmaceuticals, vaccines, healthcare products, food and semi- conductors. The service started in Europe and Asia before North America was added in June.

EVA was a launch customer of the Boeing 777-300ER and is flying 21 Boeing 777-300ERs and has 13 more on order. “We made the right choice and our experience with this aircraft’s advanced technol-ogy and excellent performance indicates what we can expect from the Boeing 777 Freighters,” says company president Aus-tin Cheng. “These freighters will be the backbone of our air cargo service for the next decade.”

2

EVA Air finalises deal for five new freighters

FEDEX has signed a deal to buy 50 Boeing 767-300 Freighters as part of its fleet modernisation programme.

The integrator announced the order in a statement on its website and says that it will allow it to “more affec-tively serve its customers”.

FedEx explains the deal includes options for another 50 767 Freighters and is said to be worth $9.97 billion at list prices. The deal brings FedEx’s firm orders for 767Fs to 106 through to the fiscal year 2023.

FedEx says Boeing will de-liver the freighters over the fiscal years from 2018 to 2023. They will be operated on its FedEx Express arm.

FedEx Express president and chief executive, David

Bronczek, explains: “Acquir-ing additional 767F aircraft is a continuation of our very successful air fleet mod-ernisation program and will enable us to reduce struc-tural costs, improve our fuel efficiency and enhance the reliability of our global network.”

The integrator has a fleet of 641 freighter aircraft as of 31 May, according to data on its website. In addition to the 767F orders, it has also committed to 18 Boeing 777 Freighters. The 767Fs will replace a number of older freighters, including Boe-ing MD10s and MD11s as well as Airbus A300-600s and A310s, which FedEx plans to retire in the coming years.

FedEx pens order for 50 767F

Growth slows in Asia PacificAIRFREIGHT volumes at air-ports across Asia Pacific and the Middle East saw a slight increase in May, according to the latest figures by the Air-ports Council International (ACI) Asia Pacific.

The association says Asia Pacific saw a marginal year on year (YOY) increase of 1.6 per cent while the Mid-dle East grew YOY by 4.4 per cent from last year.

ACI Asia Pacific says: “Airfreight in both regions continued to be impacted by weak economic growth in Europe and slowdown across Asian export markets.”

The slowdown in trade ac-tivities and airfreight traffic may put downward pressures on business travels in the coming months, ACI Asia Pa-cific also explains.

Among the major cargo airports in the region, Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi led Asia Pacific with

the highest YOY growth in May of 16 per cent, and Hamad International Airport in Doha led the Middle East with a YOY uplift of 14.7 per cent.

Hong Kong International Airport saw a 0.3 per cent YOY fall in the month, Shang-hai Pudong International Airport saw a 5.6 per cent rise and Dubai Internation-al Airport and Dubai World Central at Al Maktoum Inter-national Airport combined, saw a 4.9 per cent uplfit.

ACI Asia Pacific says May’s growth was down on April, when Asia Pacific grew YOY by 2.6 per cent and the Mid-dle East saw significant YOY growth of 14.5 per cent. In the first quarter (Q1) of this year, airports in Asia Pacific saw a 4.7 per cent YOY rise in cargo volumes. This was down on Middle East air-ports, which saw YOY growth of 8.5 per cent for Q1.

ACW 27 JULY 2015

NEWSWEEK

3ACW 27 JULY 2015

M unich Airport has seen cargo volumes rise year on year (YOY) by 11.6 per cent in the first half of the year and is also celebrating after getting approval from the

federal court to build a third runway.In the first six months of 2015, the Bavarian

airport handled 156,419 tonnes, up YOY on the 140,130 handled in the first half of 2014 and it says the cargo growth was “even more robust” than other sectors.

The volumes rise has been driven by freight-ers, which are up 33.1 per cent YOY for the period. New cargo airlines like Yangtze River Express have boosted the figures and others like AirBridgeCargo have increased services.

Munich Airport saw bellyhold rise YOY by 8.1 per cent through more routes being added and there has been strong growth in the express market with UPS, DHL and FedEx reporting surges in tonnage. Of the cargo that was han-

dled, exports were up 14.1 per cent YOY and imports were up 7.9 per cent YOY.

The airport says it is benefitting from large flows of cargo tonnage to and from China and North America, especially in automotive, machinery and high-tech products.

The dynamic growth is set to continue as the

airport was given the all clear on Thursday 16 July to build a third runway after the Federal Administrative Court approved the project.

The court dismissed the six outstanding com-plaints filed by the environmental group Bund Naturschutz Bayern and five private individ-uals. With the latest ruling, the court has now rejected all motions filed in connection with rejected appeals.

Munich Airport president and chief executive officer, Michael Kerkloh, says the conclusion of the court proceedings is a decisive milestone en route to the third runway: “Now the final deci-sion on the realisation of this urgently needed capacity expansion project rests with our three shareholders. I am confident that they will use the opportunity to expand the airport to keep pace with demand and to secure the long term future of our hub as a key competitive factor for the entire state of Bavaria, both in terms of business and employment.”

Cargo soaring at Munich as third runway approved

LIEGE AIRPORT has seen cargo tonnage grow year on year (YOY) by a substantial 13 per cent in the first half of the year as its freighter focused strategy pays off.

The airport says traffic is increasing on all major trade lanes to Asia, Africa and the Americas, but a few lanes have grown significantly. These include Turkey, where cargo grew by 50 per cent in the first six months of 2015, and cargo to and from the Americas is up a significant 75 per cent.

In the first six months of 2015, Liege Airport handled more than 300,000 tonnes. In the same period in 2014, Liege saw YOY growth of five per cent on 2013.

The airport says: “Reasons for this are the opening of additional scheduled freighter flights to/from Istanbul, Mex-ico, Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago and New York. Besides being connected to all continents and having a great trucking network all over Europe the main triggers for such growth figures are the tailored services for key prod-uct groups: live animals, perishables, pharmaceuticals, express/parcels and oversized project cargo.”

The airport says long term airline customers are showing nice growth of volumes along with carriers that joined in the last few years such as Qatar Airways, and Saudi Airlines Cargo. The airport adds taking into account an increase of freighter movements of 11 per cent and an improved load factor, Liege Airport and airlines showed “great perfor-mance on all parameters in the first half of 2015.”Last year, Liege Airport handled 590,000 tonnes of cargo and is on track to handle more than 650,000 in 2015.

All trade lanes growing at Liege

WorLdNewsHAE took over responsibility for all sales and customer service activities of Turk-ish Airlines Cargo in the US from 1 July. The general sales and service agent will cover the cities of Atlanta, Miami, Dallas Forth Worth, Portland and Seattle for the carrier. On 11 July, Turkish started its direct freighter service from Atlanta to Istanbul operating an Airbus A330-220.

AIRBRIDGECARGO AIRLINES has named Georges Biwer as its new vice president for the EMEA region.As vice president for scheduled busi-ness operations, EMEA, Biwer will focus on growing scheduled cargo operations inside and beyond Europe with Air-BridgeCargo going online in the Middle East and the African continent to provide a broader variety of export destinations for European customers.

SWISSPORT INTERNA-TIONAL has announced its acquisition of Air BP’s share in Aviation Fuel Services (AFS).

The deal sees Swissport take over Air BP’s 50 per cent stake in AFC (the hold-ing company of AFS) and its 33.3 per cent direct stake in AFS, and all AFC and AFS subsidiaries and associates.

It is subject to approval by German and Austrian com-petition authorities. Upon competition clearance, Swissport will own a major-ity stake of 66.6 per cent of AFS, through direct and indirect shareholding. It will assume operational and financial control of the busi-ness in close cooperation

with the co-shareholder DLH Fuel Company, a full subsid-iary of Deutsche Lufthansa.

Swissport International executive vice president for Europe West, Central and East, Philipp Joeinig, says: “The acquisition of the ma-jority stake gives us the ideal platform to further expand our into-plane-fuelling ser-vices and to capitalise from the ongoing liberalisation of the European into-plane-fu-elling market.”

“Strengthening our po-sition in this market allows us to provide a broad-er service portfolio to our customers and further live up to our promise of being a one-stop-shop,”Joeinig adds.

Swissport buys stake in AFS

NEWSWEEK

4 ACW 27 JULY 2015

IATA Pharma certificate for BCUBEBCUBE AIR CARGO has achieved the In-ternational Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) pharmaceutical handling certificate.

The Italian logistics company was award-ed the certificate in Rome on Wednesday 22 July. It gained the CEIV certification for its new cargo facility at Rome Fiumicino Airport, which specialises in temperature controlled pharmaceutical products.

BCUBE Air Cargo is the first airport cargo handling company in Southern Europe to re-ceive the certification, which certifies that firms operate under the highest standards of management and transport of tempera-ture sensitive pharmaceuticals.

The project was implemented in the first half of 2015 for the two subsidiaries of BCUBE Air Cargo operating at Rome Fiumi-cino and Milan Malpensa Airport. The latter will end the IATA validation by 31 July 2015.

The project also includes the certification, during 2016, of cargo platforms at Milan Linate Airport and Venice Airport.

BCUBE Air Cargo general manager, Mauro

Grisafi, says: “We are aware the pharma-ceutical market requests quality logistics services in the airport for the highest level management of its products. BCUBE Air Cargo is at the forefront to meet these expectations.

“Pharmaceutical companies and forward-ers.....can now significantly reduce the time of delivery of the pharmaceutical product destined for other countries in the world knowing they no longer have to triangulate airports in Northern Europe; this will help to generate benefits for the whole Italian sys-tem thus being able to compete well with other countries with tools and services of the highest quality.”

H awaiian Airlines is to launch a new island hopping cargo service in the first half of 2016 after it announced plans to acquire three ATR 72

turboprop aircraft in an all-cargo configuration.The inter-island shipping service will start

with flights between Honolulu, Kona, Kahului, Lihu’e and Hilo, all with well timed connections from Hawaiian Airlines’ mainland and interna-tional network.

The ATR 72 fleet can carry up to 18,000 pounds of cargo and will be able to handle five 88 by 108 inch (34.6 x 42.5 cm) aircraft pallets or up to seven LD3 containers, skidded cargo and oversized shipments. Express services for smaller shipments will also be available on the airline’s 160 daily Boeing 717 flights through-out the day.

“Our customers asked for a single-provider solution for movement to all major destina-tions within the state of Hawaii and the new

services will help grow our business on both our wide-body and B717 services,” explains Hawaiian’s vice president of cargo sales and services, Tim Strauss.

“Our ability to handle inter-island contain-erised and palletised cargo will also provide greater flexibility for customers seeking seam-less connections from our long-haul flights,” Strauss adds.

The aircraft will be branded Ohana by Hawaiian and operated by Empire Airlines, which also flies the 48 passenger ATR 42 turboprop service. Aircraft livery will feature the same kapa tail patterns created by Hilo-based artist Sig Zane and his son Kuha‘o.

The new cargo operation will create more than 100 jobs across various areas of air transportation including pilots, mechanics, ground handlers, sales, customer service and management.

Expansion of Hawaiian cargo services AirBridgeCargo sees 17% growthEFFORTS by Russia’s largest cargo airline AirBridgeCargo Airlines to grow its busi-ness in key world markets is paying off after it reported a 17 per cent increase in ton-nage carried across its global network in the first half of 2015.

In the six months ending 30 June, the car-rier transported more than 218,000 tonnes and reports a 22 per cent rise in freight tonne kilometres, achieving a higher than industry average load factor of 67 per cent during the half-year.

The Volga-Dnepr Group company, which operates scheduled cargo services via Mos-cow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on routes between Russia, Asia, Europe and North America - saw its June tonnage rise 16 per cent year on year, surpassing the growth rate of 11 per cent reported in May.

AirBridgeCargo’s core trade lanes be-tween Europe and China recorded a 26 per

cent growth in tonnage eastbound and a six per cent improvement in westbound traffic, maintaining its strong position in both mar-kets despite weakening European imports.

The carrier also expanded its presence on Europe-USA routes with additional Boe-ing 747 Freighter services from Frankfurt to Chicago. During the first half of 2015 it car-ried over 6,200 tonnes of cargo westbound between its European and North American gateways. Launch of a Los Angeles service and extra flights from Chicago and Dallas enabled it to reach double-digit growth fig-ures in the US market as well.

AirBridgeCargo executive president, Denis Ilin, says: “AirBridgeCargo is progressively developing as a global air cargo carrier. We expect a stable rather than fantastic peak cargo season and we look forward to our volumes continuing to gain momentum to-wards the end of the year.”

NEWSWEEK

5ACW 27 JULY 2015

H ong Kong International Airport saw cargo traffic increase slightly in the first half of 2015 by 0.6 per cent to 2.1 million tonnes, but the Asia Pacific slowdown in the last few

months continues.The Airport Authority of Hong Kong says in

the first half of 2015, cargo throughput was “affected by a drop in exports”, but adds it expects throughput to “consolidate” for the rest of the year.

In June, cargo volumes decreased by 3.5 per cent to 349,000 tonnes, which continues the gateway’s trend this year of monthly declines and is the fourth year on year (YOY) monthly fall in 2015. In June, 130,000 tonnes of unloaded cargo, a YOY fall of 0.9 per cent and 219,000 tonnes of loaded cargo, a YOY drop of 4.9 per cent were handled. Cargo aircraft movements fell to 4,380 flights, down 2.9 per cent on the 4,511 in April 2014.

The authority says for June: “Decline in cargo throughput last month was mainly attributed to a five per cent YOY drop in transshipments and a four per cent decrease in exports. Imports registered one per cent growth compared to the same month last year.”

The authority explains the airport’s cargo traffic in June was suppressed by the weak Eurozone economy along with a slowdown in

Asia Pacific imports and exports. Hong Kong’s June cargo volumes figure is the second low-est monthly total at the airport in this calendar year.

June was down on May, when the airport saw a YOY rise of 0.3 per cent, handling 366,000 tonnes, which is the busiest month this year for volumes. June was also below the 360,000 tonnes in April, which was a 0.7 per cent fall on April last year. June was slower than March, when 364,000 tonnes were processed, which was a significant drop on the 397,000 in March 2014. June was only up on the 303,000 tonnes handled in February and was less than the 356,000 recorded in January.

On a rolling 12-month basis, Hong Kong has handled 4.4 million tonnes of cargo, which is a YOY increase of 3.2 per cent on the same period in 2014. This includes 1.6 million of unloaded cargo, a rise of 4.4 per cent and 2.78 million of loaded cargo, a rise of 2.6 per cent.

Half-year volumes rise of 0.6% at Hong Kong

COMPANIES moving products to and from western Canada are to get a new link with China and the Asia-Pacific region after Edmonton International Airport and Air China Cargo announced Edmonton will be the carrier’s first scheduled freighter destination in Canada.

The Chinese airline will use a high-volume capacity Boe-ing 777 Freighter aircraft serving Edmonton six times a week - three from Dallas and three from Shanghai. The new service starts 3 September with a Shanghai-Edmonton-Dal-las-Edmonton-Shanghai routing.

“This will be the first freighter route between mainland China and the Canadian province of Alberta and is a key step in connecting two economies with high-growth mo-mentum,” says Air China Cargo vice president, Patrick Yu. He adds the market demand for direct cargo services be-tween Asia and Canada has been growing.

Edmonton president and chief executive officer, Tom Ruth, adds: “Air China’s investment in Edmonton greatly expands the Edmonton metro region and Alberta’s cargo network. Our energy, manufacturing, agriculture and other industries can now ship goods more efficiently to China and the Asia Pacific region.”

Edmonton estimates the service will generate a $23 mil-lion gross domestic product gain per year for the region, producing high-yield traffic and expanding cargo opportu-nities for all Edmonton cargo-related businesses. It is also expected to increase the availability of Chinese consumer goods to the region like smart phones, and tablets.

Air China to start Canada link

WorldNewsFREIGHT forwarder, Rhenus Logistics UK, has further strengthened its existing network with the opening of a new fa-cility located close to Heathrow Airport.The Heathrow facility specialises in air and ocean freight and includes a range of services, including imports and exports.Rhenus says the new Heathrow depot provides a significant gateway to the Eu-ropean Union and beyond.

SEATTLE-TACOMA INTERNATIONAL AIR-PORT has seen cargo volumes rise year on year (YOY) by 7.2 per cent in June to 30,484 tonnes.The US airport says international cargo volumes were up YOY by 18.1 per cent in June. For the first six months of 2015, cargo is up by 6.1 per cent to 139,223 tonnes with international cargo up a sig-nificant 17.9 per cent.

Hactl passes GdP auditHONG KONG AIR CARGO TERMINALS LIMITED (Hactl) has passed its first World Health Organization (WHO) Good Distribution Practices (GDP) annual surveillance audit.

Last year, the cargo handler, became the first handling agent in Hong Kong to achieve GDP accreditation, which covers the provision of handling, logistics and storage ser-vices for pharmaceuticals.

The 2015 annual audit was conducted by Geneva-based independent GDP auditor SGS and included full surveil-lance of Hactl’s staff competence, premises, equipment, processes, quality control system and hygiene standards.

During the year, Hactl created a new quality assur-ance supervisor post within its GDP management team to strengthen the observance of GDP-governed operations.

The audit found there had been no deviation events since Hactl’s original accreditation, and there no non-confor-mities. It confirmed that Hactl’s cold chain management system continues to meet specified standards.Hactl chief executive, Mark Whitehead, says: “Pharmaceu-ticals is an increasingly important part of the total airfreight market. I am very pleased with the direction of the GDP initiative, and its positive impact on airfreight’s ability to serve this sector.”

ACW 27 JULY 20156

A10-year growth strategy aimed at offering greater handling capacity and securing Singapore’s Changi Airport’s position as a key airfreight hub will deliver a new mega aviation

estate by the mid-2020s. The development of Changi East - which

includes a brand new Terminal 5 and industry zone to support airfreight and air express ser-

vices - demonstrates Changi Airport Group’s (CAG) commitment to leveraging maximum advantage from Singapore’s strategic location in the heart of southeast Asia.

“With economic development and the opening up of trade within Asia, CAG expects stronger growth in air cargo traffic in the years ahead,” says James Fong, (pictured below) assistant vice president for cargo and logistics development at

CAG. “As the leading air cargo hub of the region we are well-placed to meet increased demand for intra-Asia airfreight services with our excellent connectivity, service reliability and efficiency.”

Changi handled some 1.8 million tonnes of cargo in 2014 and, as well as expanding the air-port’s connectivity through a strong portfolio of airlines and city links, CAG will continue to work with partners to develop infrastructure and han-dling capabilities to diversify its cargo base and build resilience into its cargo performance.

“CAG has been actively developing cargo seg-ments in pharmaceuticals and perishables in recent years and will continue to do so,” adds Fong. “Other niche segments, such as express cargo, are focus areas that CAG will pursue. For example, DHL Express announced earlier this year that it will be investing $140 million to expand its South Asia hub in Singapore to serve the region even more extensively.”

Fong is also realistic when it comes to con-sidering future challenges. “Now, with better supply chain planning, companies who used to transport their products by airfreight are finding other viable solutions to transport products by sea, land, or a combination of both,” he says.

“As a key player in the region’s airfreight indus-try, Changi will strive to forge closer partnerships with carriers, air cargo agents and other stake-holders, to identify emerging cargo markets and continue to strengthen our handling capabilities as well as improve our efficiency.”

To combat challenging conditions, CAG has rolled out a number of incentives and relief mea-sures to better support its air cargo partners. In the cargo sector a 50 per cent landing fee rebate for scheduled freighter operations has been extended to 30 September, following which the rebate will be adjusted to 30 per cent until 31 March 2016.

Separately, incentives for cargo agents leasing CAG’s cargo facilities at the Changi Airfreight Centre have also been extended to 31 March next year with airlines receiving a 50 per cent aircraft parking fee rebate up to 31 March 2017.

“Together, the various measures offer sup-port to airlines and ground handlers amid challenging business conditions, while strength-ening the competitiveness of the Changi air hub,”

says Fong.“Despite the challenges faced by major

economies, CAG is confident of traffic volume increasing in the long run in line with the growth of trade between the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) and Europe. The shift of manufacturing from north Asia to our hinter-land ASEAN will spur airfreight activities in the region which will be beneficial to Changi.”

The first five months of 2015 saw CAG cargo shipments rise slightly by 0.7 per cent to 760,900 tonnes, driven driven by growth in imports and transhipments across Changi’s top five markets - China, Australia, Hong Kong, US and Indonesia - which collectively account for 46 per cent of all cargo movements.

In Singapore the Ministry of Trade and Indus-try is forecasting moderate GDP growth of between two and four per cent in 2015. “As with the rest of the industry, Changi’s cargo perfor-mance tends to move in tandem with global and regional trends,” adds Fong.

“Based on the feedback from our cargo part-ners, growth is expected to continue at Changi for 2015, mainly fuelled by the north east Asia and south west Pacific markets. We have also observed growth in niche cargo segments and markets, such as pharmaceuticals and perish-ables, and these are opportunities where we will continue to develop with our partners.

“We continue to be focused on expanding Changi’s connectivity and forging partnerships with airlines to better manage the fragility of the industry. In addition, we will continue to work with partners to develop high-yield niche segments to lay the foundations for sustainable growth over the long term.”

Changi has big ambitionsFAR EAST

SHANGHAI PUDONG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CARGO TERMINAL (PACTL) saw tonnage growth of 10.89 per cent year on year (YOY) in the first half of 2015.

PACTL handled 762,104 tonnes, which it says is “based on the ongoing posi-tive development of international imports throughout this year and a strong increase in domestic exports during the last quarter”.

PACTL’s import cargo volumes rose YOY by 14.66 per cent to 315,044 tonnes while

export cargo volumes grew by 8.37 per cent to 447,060 tonnes.

PACTL vice president, Lutz Grzegorz, says: “First of all, this is linked to recent market trends. Among other things, we’ve registered ongoing positive developments in international imports throughout the year so far, especially from Europe and the US.”

He adds that he expects freight volumes to develop in a similar way for the rest of the year.

PACTL grows its volumes by 10.89%

7ACW 27 JULY 2015

FAR EASTNetwork upgrades by UPS

U PS has sped up transit times for a majority of its intra-Asia lanes as part of a series of service and network enhancements in anticipation of growth iregional trade.

The supply chain management specialist cur-rently offers the industry’s fastest transit time of 24 hours for deliveries from Hong Kong to Europe and has bolstered its geographical reach, transit speed and industry expertise through a range of enhancements.

These include accelerated intra-Asia transit times by up to one full day across 29 trade lanes connecting 41 markets, allowing most intra-Asia and Asia-US trade to reach its des-tination within 24 hours, and Asia-EU shipments within 48 hours.

UPS has also deepened and expanded its geographical net-work reach in four markets covering 27 cities and plans to cover almost 40 cities by end of 2018.

Another improvement has seen package pick-up cut-off times extended by 90 minutes to as late as 8 pm in major export markets, giving businesses greater flexibility to finalise orders.

UPS Asia Pacific region president, Nando Cesarone, explains: “There are substantial opportunities linked to eco-nomic growth but our experience shows that the rising tide of regional growth will not float all boats. Success is incum-bent upon businesses actively pursuing opportunities by addressing the demands of the market and forming the right partnerships.

“What the market demands today goes beyond product or pricing. Customers also need partners that can maximise their efficiency. The ability to deliver finished products, technical components or spare parts faster, further and more flexibly is vital. This new suite of enhancements - and those that we will continue to make - addresses these needs.”

UPS is also expanding its network reach to deepen its pres-ence in major cities with the deployment of additional vehicles to support volume growth as well as giving customers direct access to new consumers.

UPS Asia Pacific region vice president of strategy, Wilfredo Ramos, says: “As a result of increased transit efficiencies, for example, manufacturers in Taiwan, one of the major high-tech capitals, will be able to access parts from suppliers sooner, allowing them to better meet the needs of their own clients.

“Meanwhile, due to expanded geographical reach in the Philippines with the addition of 185 new postal codes, compa-nies will be able to send shipments directly to more locations across the nation than ever before. Strengthened capabili-

ties across key air lanes will also mean that goods travelling between Japan and a number of destinations in Asia will get there much faster,” he adds.

According to World Trade Organisation statistics, intra-Asia trade accounts for more than half of Asia’s trade, with its value exceeding the combined trade between Asia and Europe, and Asia and North America. According to the International Monetary Fund’s most recent regional economic outlook, Asia Pacific continues to lead global growth, with the regional economy set to expand by 5.6 per cent this year and 5.5 per cent in 2016, driven heavily by strong domestic demand.

The network enhancements follow on from a series of investments undertaken by UPS to strengthen its overall offering in Asia Pacific. At the start of the year the company launched its Trade Management Services to facilitate custom-ers’ expansion opportunities and at the same time expanded its UPS Worldwide Express Freight services to an additional three markets in the region. More recently, it began offering inbound and outbound express delivery and contract logistics services in Myanmar (Burma).

GOVERNMENTS across Asia may not be investing enough long term cash in airport infrastructure developments, includ-ing airport terminals, runways and air navigation services, according to the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).

The association says that whilst regional airlines have continued to invest heavily in the latest generation of fuel efficient aircraft to meet traffic growth demands this is not being matched by investment in the region’s aviation infrastructure.

“With Asia continuing to rise on the global stage, the long term prospects for the region’s carriers are still very posi-tive,” says Andrew Herdman, director general of AAPA.

Asian airlines are at the forefront of growth in the airfreight business and account for almost 40 per cent of global air cargo traffic with future demand projected to double over the next 15 years.

With an eye on the effects of recent Chinese currency fluc-tuations Herdman’s analysis remains optimistic. “Despite a slowdown in the Chinese economy, a growth rate of around seven per cent is still a significant achievement,” he tells Air Cargo Week (ACW).

“Similarly, growth rates for other Asian economies have been moderating but remain broadly positive. In term of cur-rency fluctuations, the key feature over the past 18 months has been the strengthening of the US dollar. Whilst this may improve the competitiveness of Asian exports, the relative weakness of many Asian currencies could have some impact on domestic demand and markets.”

Herdman is also adamant that the air cargo industry has to

respond flexibly to changing patterns of demand caused by the evolution of new consumer markets and dynamic chang-es to global supply chains.

“In addition to the developed markets of Europe and North America, growing numbers of middle class consumers, par-ticularly in Asia, are a significant source of new demand for both goods and services,” he says.

“This has led to significant investments in upgrading transport and logistics infrastructure across the region. Meanwhile, cargo carriers are always on the lookout for new markets for dedicated freighter services at both ends of the supply chain.”

Air China Cargo admits its country is facing a huge challenge to balance import and export, with currency fluctu-ations in the first half of 2015 particularly impacting inbound airfreight business.

The airline tells ACW that the company is adopting a more aggressive market stance and it is now actively adding ca-pacity and endeavouring to become more competitive.

The carrier recently announced the launch of a Shanghai/Edmonton/Dallas freighter service from 3 September on a three day a week service (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) using its brand new Boeing 777F freighter.

“We are dedicated to keep developing our network and services,” adds the spokesman. “Yield is dropping due to low market rates but thanks to new aircraft and new business we are still in the market. The market needs a booming year to regain confidence but it is hard to predict whether 2016 will deliver that.”

Asia Pacific airlines face major challenges

ACW 27 JULY 20158

TEMPERATURE SENSITIVE

DHL warns new generation of cold chains needed

THE airfreight industry faces twin-track challenges when it comes to opportunities offered by the transport of tempera-ture sensitive goods and pharmaceuticals, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

IATA’s senior manager of special cargo, Andrea Gruber, be-lieves the usual expectations for reliability and speed need to be supplemented by facilities and handling procedures that guarantee a constant temperature range and absolute integrity of goods.

“Regulators have proposed or implemented a vast array of requirements with which the industry must comply,” she tells Air Cargo Week. “If these challenges are not overcome air cargo risks losing the opportunity presented by this huge market.”

She points out that although the aviation industry, airlines, ground handlers and even airports are investing in enhanced processes, systems, infrastructure and training, this is not always known about by the healthcare industry.

“One needs to understand the complexity at the airport and the numerous stakeholders involved,” she explains. “Temperature deviation and excursions of temperature throughout the journey require a complete logistical process to maintain shipment integrity. Airlines and ground handlers can use expertise to enhance their processes and infrastruc-ture to meet international regulations.”

IATA’s Centre of Excellence for Independent Validation in Pharmaceutical Logistics (CEIV Pharma) initiative offers global certification for compliance with the standards, regu-lations, as well as give shippers much greater confidence in the ability of the end-to-end cargo chain to handle pharma-ceutical goods.

Twin-track industry challenges

Anew generation of cold chains needs to be devel-oped for the life sciences and healthcare industry to support improvements in global health standards, according to research by DHL Global Forwarding.

Critical challenges facing the healthcare industry as global demand for expensive, structurally complex and tem-perature-sensitive specialty drugs rises are highlighted in DHL’s white paper ‘The Smarter Cold Chain: Four essentials every com-pany should adopt’.

“Astounding developments in the life sciences industry cou-pled with globalisation means there is an opportunity for better health, pain relief and cure from disease for many millions of peo-ple around the world,” says Frank Appel, (pictured below) chief executive officer of Deutsche Post DHL Group.

“But getting the medication to patients in the right condition and achieving that goal requires a complex balancing of cost and risk. It emphasises yet again the strong link between trade, logis-tics and the impact they have on improving people´s lives.”

Pharmaceutical transport is both expensive and sensitive. Product integrity is paramount and with global demand grow-ing hand-in-hand with ever stricter compliance from regulators,

the industry is in critical need of a new generation of cold chains developed to support rising demand and product safety.

All this comes against a background where global spending on healthcare is forecast to reach around $1.3 trillion by 2018, with according to the World Economic Forum, about one third aris-ing from health expenditure in emerging markets by 2020.

Specialty drugs and biologics (protein-based drugs) are among the growth areas, with US spending expected to reach $401.7 bil-

lion in five years, according to Pricewaterhouse Coopers.The transport of highly sensitive pharmaceuticals brings new

complexity to the supply chain since they combine specific con-dition tolerances with high value. Their increased global demand and distribution is predicted to fuel approximately 60 per cent growth in cold chain logistics.

DHL Customer Solutions and Innovation president of life sci-ences and healthcare, Angelos Orfanos warns that collapsed cold chains due to “non-appropriate” conditions could result in loss of a shipment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“These are high stakes and a smarter supply chain is necessary to overcome the challenges,” he says. “As the life sciences and healthcare industry expands and transforms to meet the growing needs of the world, logistics providers need specialist invest-ment in research and development as well offering the expertise needed to transport medicine and equipment. In the simplest terms - better logistics can contribute to better healthcare.”

According to the DHL report, life sciences and healthcare companies that want to overcome the challenges of maintaining product integrity, regardless of the climactic conditions faced during global distribution, will need to build a new generation of cold chains.

Author of the report Lisa Harrington, president of the lhar-rington group, and senior research fellow at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, recommends firms collaborate with logistics service providers that have the right infrastructure in place and can ensure consistent processes on a global level. “Securing product integrity requires the physical infrastructure to be designed and operated for life sciences prod-ucts only,” says Harrington. “It also requires having the right staff in place who fully understand end-to-end cold chain compliance. Healthcare companies have a responsibility to make sure their products arrive in perfect condition and partnering with the right logistics provider can ensure that.”

9ACW 27 JULY 2015

Total cool supply chain coverage for CAL Cargo

CAL Cargo Airlines is set to become the first company offering of a full cool chain at Belgium’s Liege Airport. It will include airline, ground handling and ground transportation, the latter through partner road feeder service providers.

Validation and final certification stages of the programme were being completed at the end of July for the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Centre of Excellence for Inde-pendent Validators Pharmaceutical Logistics (CEIV) certification programme.

CAL is not the first company in Belgium to go through the pro-gramme as others at Brussels Airport have received certification - but it does lay claim to being the first to build a holistic solution across the whole chain. CEIV assesses and validates cool chain processes and provides training to guarantee compliance with all applicable standards and regulatory requirements.

CAL Cargo temperature controlled and special products man-ager, Navot Hirschhorn, (pictured below), tells Air Cargo Week that a key issue for the industry in general is how to maintain product integrity.

“Standards, traceability, staff training and supplier manage-ment are critical points that need to be looked at to mitigate risks in time sensitive transport,” he says.

“At CAL, we believe in strict adherence to regulations. We conduct risk assessment and contingency planning, and expect others in the industry to do the same. Occasional deviations must be followed by a full investigation to determine root cause, including implementation of dedicated plan.”

Hirschhorn believes in both accountability and transparency across the entire process. “Defined roles and responsibilities for each stakeholder in the supply chain are important, along with well-trained staff with know-how and experience in contingency planning,” he says.

Growth of the logistics infrastructure is barely keeping pace

with demand and many airport facilities have fallen behind the regulatory progress made by the pharma industry in recent years. While there is development in infrastructure and airports are investing or plan to invest in their pharma facilities, Hirschhorn warns it is slower than the industry needs.

“Changing regulations demand that shippers maintain higher standards of product integrity. Suppliers such as CAL who meet these requirements are recognised for good distribution practice

in pharma, and as a result are seeing an increase in business in this sector,” says Hirschhorn.

“CAL positions itself in the frontline of providing solutions and we see that the market recognising it, hence CAL’s business in this sector is increasing. Having said that, there are too many region-al-specific standards that may be open to interpretation or not being adhered to.

“We think standards should be global - everyone should be speaking the same language.”

Hirschhorn is adamant that adoption of CEIV as a global standard is critical for the pharma industry. The process veri-fies compliance with all applicable international standards and guidelines, and offers skills training for personnel involved in pharma handling along the entire chain.

“We expect to reach the point where shippers recognise and use only suppliers who adhere to global standards, such as CEIV, in order to reduce damage to pharma goods being transported around the world,” he says.

CAL is actively searching for new products and is in discussions with two potential partners about adding new active packaging to its csafe and Envirotainer arsenal.

AIR cargo companies and airlines across the world are ramp-ing up cold chain infrastructure in response to rising demand for transportation of complex pharmaceuticals.

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Cargo is facilitating the shipment of temperature sensitive goods and pharmaceutical products by renting the latest technology active containers, the RKN and RAP Opticooler, from German-based DoKaSch Temperature Solutions (DTS).

Rolling out the service across the airline’s network in the first part of the year made Cathay the first Asian carrier offering customers an alternative solution for temperature sensitive air cargo shipments. “In a growing market, and in Asia in particular, we can provide the entire range of active containers, enabling us to offer customers the best possible air cargo solutions,” says Mark Sutch, Cathay Pacific’s gen-eral manager cargo sales and marketing.

DTS provides state-of-the-art climate-control solutions for temperature sensitive air cargo. The DoKaSch containers safeguard the efficacy of vital pharmaceuticals throughout global transportation chains.

In June the cargo division of American Airlines opened a $5 million, temperature-controlled 25,000 square foot warehouse at Philadelphia International Airport.

The facility can store medicines and medical devices at consistent temperatures of between two and eight degrees Celsius and is amongst the latest designed to support phar-maceutical companies that are increasingly developing more complex medicines, including hormone treatments, vaccines and proteins that require refrigeration to work properly. The location of the facility is important because of its proximity to drug-makers based on the US eastern seaboard.

Cold chain infrastructure drive

TEMPERATURE SENSITIVE

ACW 27 JULY 2015 10

L eaving the European Union (EU) would put barriers between the UK and trading partners on the continent, according to the Manchester Airports Group (MAG).

MAG’s business development manager for cargo and general aviation, Conan Busby, tells Air Cargo Week the

group’s volumes are growing and big trading partners include EU countries.

“It would be a shame to put barriers between this trade when the government is pushing hard to get Britain exporting. There is a lot of integrator traffic between the UK and Europe so we would be watching intently,” Busby says, but he adds a lot of MAG’s traf-fic is also to or from outside the EU, while much cargo is trucked on European routes rather than by air.

The UK market Busby says, has been “relatively static” for the last few years, at around 2.5 million tonnes per annum. “We hope to see a bit of growth through 2015 with global trade seeing a bit more stability and through new opportunities we’re seeing across our airports,” he notes.

China Southern Cargo launched a twice-weekly service from Guangzhou to London Stansted Airport in June, which MAG hopes will ease the reliance on heavily congested Heathrow Air-

port, and reduce the need to add 24 hours to the supply chain by using flights operating only as far as mainland Europe.

East Midlands Airport (pictured) is growing and Busby says express traffic and ad hoc charter sectors are thriving. Airlines will also soon have access to a new 30 tonne hi-loader, which will enhance outsized handling capability. At Manchester Airport, Busby says bellyhold volumes are seeing double-digit growth year on year through new, better utilised services such as the new Cathay Pacific flights from Hong Kong.

The ongoing challenge for MAG, Busby says, is making the industry aware there are more airports than just Heathrow in

the UK, as a lot of the demand is far north of London. “Whilst we have Stansted to compete in the London market, a large amount of airfreight is trucked around the UK to feed in to the big con-solidation centres. We’re keen to demonstrate East Midlands and Manchester can offer strong alternatives to London,” he explains.

In the UK, business to consumer goods are growing as Internet shopping grows, Busby explains, and perishables continue to be a strong growth market. He says Qatar Airways has launched a twice weekly service from Accra to Stansted and Network Avi-ation Group has increased their Nairobi schedule to a fourth weekly flight from Stansted.

MAG growing cargo volumes but warns of EU exitUK & IRELAND

Bellyhold cargo boosting DublinDUBLIN AIRPORT has seen cargo volumes surge by 16.1 per cent in the first five months of 2015, due mainly to growth in bellyhold rises from new routes.

The Airports Council International (ACI) Europe says the airport handled 51,491 tonnes during the period. In May alone, the latest figures released by ACI Europe, the airport saw a rise of 8.5 per cent, handling 10,424 tonnes.

Much of the cargo growth is being driv-en by bellyhold traffic, and Dublin Airport managing director, Vincent Harrison, says 22 new routes have been started in the first half of the year, and there is an additional capacity on a number on existing services.

The Irish aviation market is set to change as the International Airlines Group is set to buy Aer Lingus for 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion). Earlier this month, daa, the owner of Dublin, welcomed the deal.

SHANNON AIRPORT is seeing strong perfor-mance by exporters, which is driving cargo demand, according to Shannon Group strat-egy director, Patrick Edmond.

Despite solid growth, Edmond tells Air Cargo Week there is a large proportion of Irish export air cargo leaving Ireland by road to British or European airports. He estimates it is between 50-80 per cent of all Irish air export airfreight. “That reflects the level of competition on some of the key ex-Europe trade lanes but also the opportunity for di-rect services,” Edmond explains.

He says Shannon is expanding operations, and will be boosted by the forthcoming Irish National Aviation Policy proposal to des-ignate it as a national hub for air cargo development. This year, Turkish Airlines Cargo introduced it as a stop on their Air-

bus 330 Freighter Istanbul-Chicago route. “We’re look forward to developing our direct route network further, as well as developing our facilities,” Edmond says.

Shannon mainly serves the pharma, medi-cal-device and ICT clusters in the South and West of Ireland. Edmond says there is partic-ular demand from high-value exporters keen to shorten their supply chains. Shannon also ships a lot of Irish thoroughbred horses. The airport’s main export trade lanes are the US and Asia.

Edmond warns if the UK leaves the Eu-ropean Union (EU) “it would have a range of effects on UK and EU trade, including UK and Ireland trade, and on the attractiveness of the UK for imports to the EU”. The Aer Lingus buyout by the International Airlines Group will open up opportunities, he adds.

Exports driving growth at Shannon Airport

Freight Forwarders

11ACW 27 JULY 2015

TRADEFINDER

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Industry Events

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Freight Forwarders

NEWSWEEKGrowth continues at Air Charter Service

Air Charter Service (ACS) says in June it booked more than 1,000 charter contracts in a month for the first time in its history, as business continues to grow.

Group chief operating officer, Ruan Court-ney, (pictured below) explains it is a “great achievement” for the month and many of these consisted of more than one sector.

“That is an average of one contract signed every 41 minutes. Considering ten years ago we had only just passed the 1,000-charters-per-year mark, it is a testament to our significant growth in recent years,” Courtney says.

Courtney explains that ACW has seen deteri-oration in the Russian market, which has “hurt numbers” in both its Moscow and St Peters-burg offices. But this fall, he says in business has been compensated by Europe, and he notes that all other European offices were up con-siderably year on year as of June, as well as its North American operations, which more than made up for the shortfall.

“Particular highlights include the perfor-mance of our cargo departments in the UK and the US, these have fuelled a large part of the growth in terms of numbers. Also our oper-ations in Hong Kong and Beijing which, while less significant in terms of overall numbers,

saw a 60 per cent increase,” Courtney explains. Courtney continues it is not just June that has

been exceptional for ACS as the aircraft charter company has seen significant growth in three out of the last four months.

ACS registered record months in March, then May and once again in June and continues to see significant growth. “So far this year charter numbers are up more than 20 per cent on last year, a trend which looks set to continue – it is a great way to celebrate our 25th anniversary,” Courtney adds.

GROUND handlers, airlines and freight for-warders across Australia’s international air cargo industry will soon benefit from a new compliance management solution for secu-rity and safety from the end of this month (July).

Cargo Guardian is a comprehensive com-pliance management solution which also supports global air cargo security initiatives. It has been developed by industry special-ists to integrate with operational process and data exchange practices.

It will verify compliance obligations to elements of Australia’s air cargo securi-ty programme as defined by the Office of Transport Security, as well as elements of the legislative framework for the carriage of

dangerous goods by air under the Civil Avi-ation Act.

Cargo Guardian also equips freight forwarders and airlines to rapidly and ef-ficiently implement the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Resolution 651 on cargo security, which is recognised as best practice for standardising security declarations across the industry.

It means all air cargo shipments departing Australia will travel under IATA Resolution 651 and forms a basis from which to imple-ment other global security initiatives. These include the recently announced World Cus-toms Organisation (WCO) ‘7+1’ data set, which is helping to standardise pre-loading advance cargo information (PLACI).

New cargo security initiative for Australia

Tonnage growth boosts Kuehne + NagelNET turnover and gross profit fell slightly in the first half of 2015, but a number of factors helped the Kuehne + Nagel Group improve its operational result, among them a strong airfreight performance.

Tonnage rose by 5.2 per cent over the first six months of the year. Airfreight turnover (external customers) fell from two billion Swiss francs ($2.1 billion) to 1.9 billion Swiss francs year on year (YOY). Gross prof-it for the airfreight segment rose from 439 million Swiss francs to 445 million Swiss francs YOY, helped by a fall in expenses and a reduction in customs duties and taxes.

Significant volume increases were seen in exports from Europe, North America and Asia. The expansion of services for custom-ers in the perishables, pharmaceuticals and industrial goods segments contributed further to the development of Kuehne +

Nagel’s airfreight operation. The conversion rate improved from 27.8 per cent in the first half of 2014 to 30.6 per cent in the first six months of 2015. EBIT increased year on year by 11.5 per cent for the same period.

Kuehne + Nagel International chief ex-ecutive officer, Detlef Trefzger, says: “Given the demanding market environment and currency volatilities, we are very pleased about the development of our results in the first half of 2015. The solid performance in seafreight and the increased profitability in airfreight are to be highlighted. Due to our proven business model and the consistent implementation of our global strategy, we were able to increase the earnings for the period despite the stronger Swiss franc.” The Swiss firm’s net turnover for the first six months was 8.2 billion Swiss francs and gross profit was three billion Swiss francs.

RA3-certification for DhabiJetDHABIJET, Abu Dhabi Airports’ ground handling service provider, has won RA3 cer-tification for its cargo operations at Al Ain International Airport.

Certification means that European Union (EU) member states recognise DhabiJet as a regulated agent, and the ground handler meets the security requirements for screen-ing air cargo and mail entering the EU.

Abu Dhabi Airports chief operations

officer, Ahmad Al Haddabi, says: “This demonstrates our commitment towards de-livering the highest level of aviation services by ensuring that we continue to apply best practices to operate in a safe and efficient manner.”The International Air Transport Associa-tion, expects the United Arab Emirates to become the third largest air cargo market worldwide ny 2018.