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The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals No. 1,094

17 August 2020

Lithium batteries and a lack of transparency

TIACA and Pharma.Aero join forces to prepare for COVID-19 vaccine T

he International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) and Pharma.Aero have joined forces to develop global guidance for the air cargo industry to enable optimal transportation of the COVID-19 vaccine. The guidance will be developed gradually in four work packages through a joint working group. In the past few months, airfreight has demonstrated its vital role in the global economy and distribution of essential medical supplies. In the months to come, airfreight will play a vital role in the COVID-19 vaccine global supply chain. As pharmaceutical companies race to develop the COVID-19 vaccine, it is still unclear what impact this vaccine will have on the global supply chain, specifically, logistics requirements and the air cargo industry. To address these concerns, the joint

working group will bring to the table all the key industry stakeholders, including pharmaceutical manufacturers and logistics businesses. The aim of this programme is to provide the air cargo industry with more clarity of the demands, expectations and quality supply chain requirements, including but not restricted to critical trade lanes, air cargo capacity, handling and storage, track and trace requirements, for the transportation of the vaccines. At the same time, shippers will gain more understanding about the capabilities of the various logistics players. This will ensure that once the vaccine is available in the market,

the air cargo industry will be ready to respond to the needs of the shippers and transport vaccines in optimal conditions to all corners of the globe. “COVID-19 vaccine delivery will be one of the biggest logistical challenges in modern history. No one company can own the end-to-end vaccine supply chain,” said Neel Jones Shah, TIACA board member and global head of airfreight at Flexport. “I’m proud to be a member of the TIACA and Pharma.Aero working group, which is doing the critical work of connecting all vaccine supply chain stakeholders to foster effective communication and collaboration. We need to start working together now to

ensure the industry is prepared when the time comes.” “Setting up reliable end-to-end air transportation for pharma shippers is part of the vision and mission of Pharma.Aero. Amongst our members i.e. life sciences and pharmaceutical shippers, certified airport communities and air cargo operators, we have a track record of project-based collaboration,” says Nathan De Valck, chairman of Pharma.Aero. “As a result, Pharma.Aero is well-positioned to make a valuable contribution in preparing the air cargo industry for this immense challenge.” The working group will consist of members of both organisations and will also reach out to various international organisations. The results will be shared with the industry through white papers and webinars in later stages of the programme which aims to complete by end of 2020.

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INSIDE LATAM’S SOLIDARY PLANE

LATAM Airlines Group’s Solidary Plane Program is a special programme that provides humanitarian services throughout South America ... page 2

AviaAM Leasing’s B 747-400F

AVIAAM Leasing, part of the Avia Solutions Group, has announced the purchase of a Boeing 747-400F nose-loader aircraft which ... page 3 Showdown in Berlin

FOLLOWING the coronavirus-induced hiatus at the end of February, the ABB FIA Formula E Championship concluded its ... page 6

AirBridgeCargo Airlines deepens its vaccine expertise AIRBRIDGECARGO Airlines (ABC), has delivered yellow fever vaccines from Moscow to Frankfurt with further trucking to Liege. A 36-tonne UNICEF shipment transportation was organised in partnership with ABC long-standing customer, DSV, which prepared

over 1,000 special boxes to guarantee safe and intact delivery of sophisticated medicines. ‘While yellow fever still stays a very common disease in Africa and South America, we are honoured to be part of the cold chain to prevent its further spread and

support routine immunisation programmes of the local population,” said Nikolay Glushnev, general director, AirBridgeCargo Airlines. “DSV Russia focuses on arrangement and securing uninterrupted supply of vaccines for UNICEF.”

Lady Liberty is a guest

UNITED Airlines promoted the resumption of its flights to Newark Airport with the Statue of Liberty, the iconic symbol of New York. ... page 7

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CARGOLOGIC GERMANY REVEALS MANAGEMENT CHANGES WITH NEW CEO DIERK Naether will replace Johannes Jaehn as the company´s CEO starting from early August 2020. Naether is an expert in the aviation industry with over 25 years of experience. Having started his CEO career at the Leipzig/Halle Airport in 2008, he has been working in this position for more than seven years. In 2016 he joined the Volga-Dnepr Group. Naether has deep knowledge in airport management, as well as extensive contacts in the region, which will take the quality management of services provided to a new level and will significantly contribute to an effective interaction with customers and partners in the region. He has “ambitious tasks to expand and improve the efficiency of the airline, as well as to improve the quality of interaction with the regional customers,” said the company. CargoLogic Germany is a successful aviation startup that has shown strong growth since receiving its Air Operator Certificate last year. The company is already well established in the market as a reliable and flexible express air cargo partner.

Menzies awarded AFKLMP contract in Canada

MENZIES Aviation, the global aviation logistics specialist, announces a new contract with Air France-KLM at Toronto Pearson Airport. The contract at Toronto Pearson Airport, Canada’s largest and busiest airport will run for three years, starting on 1 September 2020 with Menzies set to provide ground handling operations and cabin cleaning services, representing approximately 900+ flights per year.

BIFA: ‘Greater clarity’ needed on new UK cross-border trade system C ommenting on the raft of recent announcements by the UK government in regards to various aspects of the UK’s future cross border international trade, the trade association for UK freight forwarders said that, as always, “the devil will be in the detail.” Robert Keen, the trade association’s director general said: “The sooner the government puts some meat on the bones of the various announcements, the better it will be for members of the British International Freight Association (BIFA). “With less than 100 days to go before the end of the transition period, we share the concerns of our members whether there will be sufficient time to make the necessary preparations to facilitate and implement the revised arrangements.” When the Border Operating Model was revealed, BIFA welcomed that the documentation suggests a more cohesive approach to managing the UK’s trade

flows and regulatory procedures with the EU. The announcement gave clarity on the timing of increased controls; the overall processes that need to be followed; investment in infrastructure; as well as

grants for training and new IT infrastructure. Keen adds: “Set within the overall Border Operating Model, a pattern is emerging of announcements with attention-grabbing headlines, but minimal detail that doesn’t appear to have been thought through.” Keen comments: “Clearly, in regards to the Trader Support Service, if businesses wish to remain compliant they will have to implement new processes and train staff, which will mean investment at a time of huge uncertainty. “BIFA remains concerned that many of the details concerning the new systems still appear to be at the conceptual stage. “We urge the government to provide urgent clarification as many questions remain unanswered for businesses in the UK, and in particular in Northern Ireland, where both the EU and UK customs rules will be applied, depending on the final destination of the goods.”

LATAM’S SOLIDARY PLANE MOVED OVER 680 TONNES OF MEDICAL SUPPLIES LATAM Airlines Group’s Solidary Plane Program is a special programme that provides humanitarian services throughout South America and has strongly contributed to the fight against COVID-19. Despite the closed-border policies and other restrictions imposed by countries, the programme currently reaffirms LATAM’s commitment to the community and South America’s health care system. Solidary Plane in Brazil actively collaborated with various NGOs and hospitals in food and medical supply donations used to combat COVID-19. More than 64 tonnes of food were donated to different NGOs supported by LATAM throughout Brazil. The company decided to use the goods that would be served in its flights for

a new purpose. Institutions such as Gerando Falcões, Gastromotiva, Amigos do Bem and Instituto Tennis benefitted from these actions, which served as a logistics basis to support more than 70 institutions/projects. LATAM transported 45 tonnes of medical supplies in partnership with institutions such as HCor, Albert Einstein, Policía Federal, Amigos do Bem, Universidad Pública de São Paulo (USP) and the Ministry of Health, among others. Since the pandemic began, LATAM Group has transported over 680 tonnes of medical supplies to different locations within Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Argentina. These include masks, rapid COVID-19 tests and medicines, among others. Among the measures im-

plemented to combat this unprecedented crisis, the transportation of medical supplies was one of the important milestones for the Solidary Plane Program.

These supplies were sent in the first historical LATAM flights from China to South America and included face masks and lung ventilators.

Iberia begins to operate A350 at Quito Airport

THE Spanish airline has begun operating the A350 on the Madrid – Quito – Madrid route. It is the first time that this aircraft has visited an airport in Ecuador. Andrew O’Brian, president and CEO of Corporación Quiport, the company that manages and operates the Quito airport, said: “The A350 offers a number of advantages in terms of fuel consumption that makes the operation more efficient and friendlier to the environment. I congratulate Iberia on this milestone in our joint operation.” The Spanish airline operates on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays during the month of August.

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AviaAM Leasing’s recently acquired B 747-400F takes off

viaAM Leasing, part of the Avia Solutions Group, has announced the purchase of a Boeing 747-400F nose-loader aircraft which has already started commercial operations on behalf of Magma Aviation. The aircraft – which is a part of the Magma Aviation fleet – has been recently painted in

the Magma Aviation livery with the new addition of the Avia Solutions Group logo. The aircraft has already accomplished its first commercial cargo flight on August 4, 2020. Tom Helyar, general manager at Magma Aviation, which designs and delivers bespoke air cargo transport solutions anywhere in the world said: “We are very excited to add this

new B747-400F to our fleet, bringing the total number of aircraft to four.

Factory-built freighter “The benefits of a factory-built freighter is that it offers greater capability for over-length and heavy cargo, overcoming the constraints

of a converted side-door only B747. “Added to this, the aircraft has a significantly higher payload – 121 tonnes compared to 105 tonnes - and a higher performance range.” Tadas Goberis, Chief Executive Officer of AviaAM Leasing added: “The service agreement between AviaAM and Magma Aviation is first of a kind for a freighter of such scale in our fleet. “This acquisition is of a great importance for AviaAM further strengthening our position as a reliable and world-class leasing services provider, stepping into the cargo aircraft market.” Magma believes the new aircraft, with a capacity of 570 cubic metres for cargo, will help to attract new clients, opening opportunities for new routes and aid long-term expansion plans. Tom Helyar added: “This aircraft gives us extra capacity and underlines our ambitious plans for growth. “We see it as a bold move for the future for us, for the group and for our strategic partner Air Atlanta Icelandic (AAI).”

LATAM Cargo’s new Miami-Florianopolis cargo route LATAM Cargo has carried out its initial Miami-Florianopolis flight, connecting North America with Southern Brazil for the first time. This direct route will initially have one weekly frequency and its flights will be carried out in B767F aircraft with a 53-tonne capacity. The state of Santa Catarina bases its economy on commercial and industrial imports, used to supply Southern Brazil. Cargo from North America, Europe and Asia will be combined in the US. Particularly, Santa Catarina demands automotive, metallurgical, food, pharmaceutical and electronic products, among others. “This new route will allow us to provide a direct, stable and permanent service between the United States and Santa Catarina; it is a concrete example of our efforts to satisfy our clients’ needs. As strategic partners, we are constantly evaluating routes that promote international trade,

bringing buyers and sellers together with the characteristic speed, attention and logistics excellence of our global services network,” stated Gabriel Oliva, North America, Europe and Asia’s Commercial VP. Before the Miami-Florianopolis route, international cargo entered Brazil through Guarulhos and Viracopos, depending on complementary ground transportation to reach its final destination. “In addition to the benefits for Santa Catarina, through this new route we also extend our coverage in the country by totalling ten airports with cargo aircraft exclusive operation. As with this route, we will continue focused on offering more origins-destinations for our international and domestic markets in order to be present in our clients’ relevant markets,” stated Kamal Hadad, LATAM Cargo’s alliances and network VP.

CHAPMAN Freeborn, a global aircraft charter specialist, has announced the appointment of Nick Lamb as its first group director of sport. Lamb, who played cricket Nick Lamb joins to a high level, has worked Chapman Freeborn for five years within sports as first group travel, specialising in the director of sport management of travel and logistics at major sporting events worldwide. Lamb said: “I have built up a strong knowledge of the sports industry over many years, especially at Tourvest where I specialised in destination services at World Cups, Olympics, European Championships and Ryder Cups. “It’s clear that 2021 is going to be a huge one for sport, not least because events postponed this year due to the pandemic – including the Olympics and Euro 2020 – are being added to an already packed and exciting calendar.”

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Volga-Dnepr sees oil and gas traffic rebound

olga-Dnepr Airlines has completed a charter flight to guarantee delivery of much-needed oil and gas equipment for P-cube aviation. Four compressors and two rotors, weighing more than 26 tonnes, were delivered onboard an IL-76TD-90VD from Singapore to Melbourne for urgent repair and maintenance works. With an approaching national holiday in Singapore, Volga-Dnepr operational specialists managed to process all flight permits within one day to guarantee flight take-off on July 14. “Traditionally we have always had a strong presence in the oil and gas transportation market. “Our expertise and in-depth knowledge, coupled with our charter experience enables permits to be processed seamlessly, making us

a recognised name in air freight for this highly technical sector. Despite turbulent times in 2020, major oil and gas projects are still vital to various national economies, which explains

our two-fold uptick in 2020 volumes for this sector so far,” commented Ekaterina Andreeva, commercial director for Volga-Dnepr Airlines.

Strong cargo revenue increase in Air Canada Q2 results

CONTINUED strong cargo demand in Q2 netted “outstanding results” for Air Canada Cargo, the airline’s cargo division, which reported a revenue increase of 52% in the second quarter over the previous year. “For the first time ever, our cargo revenues exceeded passenger revenues in the quarter,” said Calin Rovinescu, president and chief executive officer of Air Canada. “Over the course of the pandemic and through the second quarter we’ve continued our focus on airfreight to meet immediate and exceptional demand for medical equipment, critical goods and the regular movement of time sensitive air cargo.” Since March, Air Canada Cargo has operated more than 2,000 cargo-only flights across a global network that includes important and key cities in Europe, Asia, South America, the United States as well as New Zealand and Australia. Cargo-only flights represented 38% of all widebody flights in Q2 2020, representing more than 40% of total cargo revenue. Air Canada was among the first passenger airlines to reconfigure widebody aircraft for transporting cargo in the cabin by removing the seats in the passenger cabin of a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. “This rapid transformation of our aircraft to meet cargo demand reflects our ability to quickly pivot and adapt to the changing dynamics of the industry while maximising the needs of our fleet,” said Rovinescu. “All of us at Air Canada are incredibly grateful to our customers for allowing us to serve them in ways we never anticipated in the midst of this global disaster,” said Air Canada Cargo vice president Tim Strauss.

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cargo.one raises $18.6m for North America and Asia expansion

DIGITAL booking platform for air cargo, cargo.one has raised $18.6 million in venture funding. It plans to onboard new airlines, grow in additional markets and hire 70 employees, tripling the size of the company by the end of the year. The company counts Lufthansa, All Nippon Airways, Finnair, Etihad, AirBridgeCargo and TAP Air Portugal among its 12 partner airlines. cargo.one’s ambition is to build the global operating system for air cargo. Its intuitive digital platform makes booking shipments as “simple as booking a holiday or business trip on Skyscanner or Kayak.” The Series A round was led by venture capital firm Index Ventures, with the participation of Next47 and prior backers Creandum, Lufthansa Cargo and Point Nine Capital. They were joined by angel investors including Tom Stafford of DST Global and Carlos Gonzalez-Cadenas, currently chief operating officer of GoCardless and former chief product officer of Skyscanner. Martin Mignot and Max Rimpel of Index Ventures led the investment. “Right now, booking air cargo is a long and cumbersome manual process, driven by a ‘feel’ of the market, and a shorttermist, reactive approach to sales,” said Moritz Claussen, co-founder and managing director of cargo.one. “With cargo. one, airlines are meeting customers’ increasing demand for an outstanding user experience, while substantially lowering costs to reach new customers and revenue opportunities.” “The new era of air cargo is being driven by universal access to real-time data,” said Oliver Neumann, co-founder and managing director of cargo.one. “It’s essential that the industry has access to tools that allow players to both respond and anticipate market dynamics. From day one, cargo.one has provided freight forwarders with an outstanding user experience and access to real-time data. We now plan to accelerate the release of major product additions that will increase the connectivity between freight forwarders and airlines.” “The airline sector relies on operational excellence, but its back-end infrastructure is stuck in the dark ages,” said Max Rimpel, principal at Index Ventures. “cargo.one’s platform doesn’t just help to bring air cargo bookings into the 21st century, but lays the foundations for a complete overhaul of how the air cargo industry operates.”

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MIDDLE EAST

Qatar becomes the only international airline to serve five key Australian cities

QATAR Airways has resumed services to Adelaide, Australia starting from 16 August 2020. The South Australian capital will become the airline’s fifth destination in Australia to resume flights, making Qatar Airways the only international carrier currently servicing five major cities in Australia.

Qatar Airways Group chief executive, HE Akbar Al Baker said: “We are excited to resume services to Adelaide, highlighting our ongoing commitment to the Australian market during this difficult period. “We are proud to have been one of the few airlines to never stop services to Australia, expanding our Australian operations during this crisis, to help repatriate over 170,000 Australians and international travellers with their loved ones and transporting hundreds of tonnes of cargo to maintain vital supply chains for Australian agriculture exporters. The resumption of Adelaide services and the recent launch of new flights to Brisbane demonstrate our long-term

commitment to Australia and our guarantee to support Australian passengers and exporters with global connectivity during both good and bad times.” Australian minister for trade, Tourism and investment and senator for South Australia, the Hon Simon Bir-

mingham, said: “I am delighted to see the ongoing commitment of Qatar Airways to the Adelaide market. “These flights will provide another freight route for South Australian exporters, enabling them to get their high-quality produce onto planes and into the Middle East and Europe.

Resumption of services

“While international travel restrictions remain an important line of protection for Australia against COVID-19, the resumption of services will provide another avenue for repatriating Australians and eventually provide a path for international tourists into South Australia when our

borders re-open.” South Australia premier, the Hon Steven Marshall MP said: “This is a great vote of confidence in South Australia, and a very positive first step in reinstating services for when our international borders open. “Qatar Airways has been a growing brand flying into Adelaide for a number of years helping to service important markets to and from Europe, so it is terrific to see flights back in the air and see some early optimistic news from the sector.” Adelaide Airport managing director Mark Young, said: “We’re excited to welcome back Qatar Airways and we welcome their reaffirmed commitment to the Adelaide market. This will be the first regular international passenger service to the Middle East since March, and will open up important connections through to Europe and beyond for both essential travellers and South Australian freight exporters.” Qatar Airways Cargo has operated a large number of charters and freightonly passenger aircraft to support Australian exporters and transport essential medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also introduced twice-weekly Boeing 777 freighters to Melbourne and Perth in April 2020 in response to the demand for Australian fresh produce and pharmaceuticals. With

Hariri: We created largest cargo air bridge to deliver vital goods and medical equipment to KSA during COVID-19 pandemic

SAUDIA Cargo has operated more than 1,500 flights since the COVID-19 restrictions came into effect in March. Five hundred of these flights have been operated using passenger aircraft deployed for international air cargo, according to an announcement by the company. The move reflects the efforts the company has exerted to fight COVID-19. From March through June, Saudia Cargo transported around 75,000 tonnes of vital shipments to the Kingdom including medical and PPE equipment as part of the Saudi health authorities’ efforts to prevent the spread of the pandemic. Saudia Cargo CEO Omar Hariri pointed out the company has, since COVID-19, mobilised its vast logistics resources to ensure the smooth delivery of medical shipments to the Kingdom and has established an integrated cargo air bridge specifically for this purpose.

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Emirates Group records 32nd consecutive year of profit

the resumption of passenger flights to Adelaide, the airline will operate a total of 25 flights in and out of Australia every week, comprising 23 belly-hold cargo flights and two freighters, offering more than 700 tonnes of weekly cargo capacity each way.

IFAM programme

Qatar Airways was one of the first airlines to join the Australian Government’s International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM), providing an export lifeline and global network to farmers and other exporters across Australia. Through the IFAM project, the airline has helped restore vital global supply chains between Australian exporters and their customers throughout the Middle East, Europe and Asia. Qatar Airways began its services to Adelaide in 2016. With the resumption of flights to Adelaide, Qatar Airways will operate 23 flights per week to Australia: 2 x weekly flights to Adelaide; 3 x weekly flights to Brisbane; 4 x weekly flights to Perth; daily flights to Melbourne; and daily flights to Sydney. Qatar Airways continues to lead the recovery of international air travel with the airline rebuilding its network to more than 500 weekly flights to over 75 destinations.

IATA: Middle East air cargo recovery continued in June but at a slow pace

THE International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global air freight markets in June showing improvement, but at a slower pace than some of the traditional leading indicators would suggest. Middle Eastern carriers reported a decline of 19.1% year-on-year in June, an improvement from the 24.9% fall in May. International capacity decreased 25.8%, the best of all regions. This was driven by the aggressive operational strategies of some of the region’s carriers. “Cargo is, by far, healthier than the passenger markets but doing business remains exceptionally challenging,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO.

IN May, the Emirates Group announced its 32nd consecutive year of profit, against a drop in revenue mainly attributed to reduced operations during the planned DXB runway closure in the first quarter and the impact of flight and travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the fourth quarter. In its 2019-20 Annual Report, the Emirates Group posted a profit of AED 1.7 billion ($456 million) for the financial year ended 31 March 31 2020, down 28% from last year. The Group’s revenue reached AED 104.0 billion ($28.3 billion), a decline of 5% over last year’s results. The Group’s cash balance was AED 25.6 billion ($7 billion), up 15% from last year mainly due to a strong business performance up to February 2020 and lower fuel cost compared to previous year.

Solid performance Emirates SkyCargo continued to deliver a solid performance in a highly competitive market, contributing to 13% of the airline’s total transport revenue. With the lingering weakness in airfreight demand over most of the year, Emirates’ cargo division reported a revenue of AED 11.2 billion ($ 3.1 billion), a decrease of 14% over last year. Freight yield per Freight Tonne Kilometre (FTKM), after two consecutive years of growth, declined by 2%, largely impacted by the reduction in fuel price and a strong US dollar. Tonnage carried decreased by 10% to reach 2.4 million tonnes, due to the capacity reduction with the retirement of one Boeing 777 freighter and reduced available bellyhold capacity in the first and last quarters of the year. At the end of 2019-20, Emirates’ SkyCargo’s total freighter fleet stood at 11 Boeing 777Fs. Emirates SkyCargo continued to develop innovative, bespoke products. In October, it launched Emirates Delivers, an e-commerce platform that helps individual customers and small businesses consolidate online purchases in the US and have them delivered in the UAE. More origin and destination markets are being planned in the future, leveraging Dubai as a hub for regional e-commerce fulfilment. During the year, Emirates Skycargo also strengthened its pharma capabilities with the opening of new facilities in Chicago and Copenhagen.

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automotive

Showdown in Berlin: Formula E season ends with six races F ollowing the coronavirus-induced hiatus at the end of February, the ABB FIA Formula E Championship concluded its 2019/2020 season in August with six races in nine days. From August 5 through 13, the teams in the all-electric Formula E series competed in three double-headers held in quick succession at the historic Berlin Tempelhof airport. As the battle for the World Championship title was still wide open, a high level of excitement was guaranteed. The track configuration was also changed for each double-header, creating new challenges for the drivers in each pair of races. In order to minimise the risk of spreading coronavirus, this season’s final Formula E races were held behind closed doors. In addition, Formula E was implementing a number of other strict risk minimisation measures, including limiting the number of people – such as drivers, racing team members, logistic teams – present on site from 5,000 to a maximum of 1,000, mandatory coronavirus testing, enforcing the use of face masks and social distancing. As the official logistics partner of Formula E, DHL also took extensive measures to

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ensure that its logistics processes were safe and that all the statutory requirements for protection against coronavirus were met. Onsite team quarantines and testing before arriving to the track were also implemented. “We are delighted that the innovative and sustainable Formula E series is now able to celebrate its season finale in these challenging times with three exciting double-headers in Berlin,” said Arjan Sissing, head of brand marketing at DPDHL Group. “Even though the atmosphere without spectators at the track is of course unfamiliar, the races will undoubtedly be extremely exciting due to the varied track layouts and the fact that very few points separate the top drivers in the championship.” The Portuguese driver Antonio Felix da Costa from the DS Techeetah team, who was in the lead, was only eleven points ahead of the driver in second place, the New Zealander Mitch Evans from the Panasonic Jaguar Racing team. Currently in third place is the British driver Alexander Sims from the BMW Andretti Motorsport team. Formula E has already published a provisional race calendar for the upcoming seventh

season 2020/2021. The season is due to kick off on January 16, 2021 with the E-Prix in Santiago, Chile, and a total of 14 races are to be held in 12 cities around the world. DHL is a founding member and logistics partner of Formula E, the first all-electric racing series. Deutsche Post DHL Group has for many years been taking on responsibility for environmental and climate protection with its Group-wide environmental protection program GoGreen. This also includes the voluntary commitment of employees around the world, who are actively involved in local initiatives, for

instance, as part of Global Volunteer Day. To help tackle the race for clean air and raise awareness on the importance of air pollution, DHL has teamed up with Formula E offering fans around the world the opportunity to make a difference by joining the “Send a breath” initiative. For every participant DHL will plant a tree in the country of a Formula E race location. With Mission 2050, Deutsche Post DHL Group has also set itself the goal of reducing logistics-related emissions to net zero by 2050. Electromobility plays a key role in this strategy.

aircargoweek.com 12/08/2020 16:01

NEWS EVENTFINDER

WFS WINS 5-YEAR AFKLMP CARGO CONTRACT

WORLDWIDE Flight Services’ (WFS) investment in state of-the-art facilities as part of its long-term commitment to Brussels Airport has earned the world’s largest cargo handling company a new fiveyear contract with Air France KLM Martinair Cargo. Under the terms of the agreement, which commences this month, WFS will provide a total handling solution including cargo, mail and truck handling and services for special products, for some 30,000 tonnes annually. Winning this”prestigious” Air France KLM Martinair Cargo contract comes as WFS prepares for the opening of its new 25,000 sq m Building 835 at Brussels Airport. The new facility is part of a €100 million investment by Brussels Airport in the cargo zone at the airport and will incorporate 3,000 sq m of cooling facilities for pharma and perishables shipments, a covered airside staging area and outside container storage. As part of WFS’ global commitment to the highest levels of safety and security, it will also be equipped with full CCTV coverage, x-ray and other security technologies. Marc Claesen, senior vice president commercial EMEAA at WFS, said: “We are extremely proud that Air France KLM Martinair Cargo are extending their

partnership with WFS in Europe as we continue to invest in our presence at Brussels Airport. WFS is making this strong commitment to support our customers, the Belgian freight and logistics industry, and Brussels Airport’s ambition to be one of Europe’s most important and professional cargo hubs. We are extremely confident in the airport’s long-term growth potential.” The opening of Building 835 will mark WFS’ second new cargo terminal at Brussels Airport within two years. In February 2019, it also commenced operations in the custom-built Building 832 at the airport, a 9,400 sq m freight centre designed to support fast and efficient loading, unloading and handling of cargo, and specialist trucking and forwarding activities. WFS’ 17 airline customers in Brussels, as well as freight forwarding customers, also benefit from other innovative technologies, including a slot booking app to expedite truck handling times and kiosks and self-acceptance systems for faster cargo acceptance. Last year, WFS became the first handler to win the BRUcargo Award, presented annually by Brussels Airport Company to recognise and incentivise service excellence.

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11-13 November 2020 Istanbul

Lady Liberty is a guest at Munich Airport

UNITED Airlines promoted the resumption of its flights to Newark Airport with the Statue of Liberty, the iconic symbol of New York. A Dreamliner Boeing 787-9 departs the Bavarian capital for the US every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 12:30. Thorsten Lettnin, managing director sales for Continental Europe and India at United Airlines, remarked: “We are delighted to be resuming our service between Munich and New York/Newark at the beginning of August. Having restarted flights

to Washington Dulles International Airport in early July, we are now flying to our two most important hubs on the US East Coast once more. Passenger and staff safety is our top priority at United.” Andreas von Puttkamer, head of the aviation division at Flughafen München pointed out that United has always had a very prominent presence in Munich as a founder member of Star Alliance. “It’s great that we’re already able to reopen United’s second route in Munich and gradually expand our services to the US again,” he said.

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Cargo and Other Stories by Lemon Queen

Cargo in the blood L

Lithium batteries and a lack of transparency

ithium batteries have once again become a hot topic after causing a fire on an aircraft operated by yet another airline. How can incidents like these continue to occur? The freighter was on the ground, but what would have happened if it had been in the air? As we all know, lithium ion and lithium metal batteries are banned from passenger aircraft, but accidents still happen. And the reason is that the current requirements in terms of security screenings are outdated and do not impose screening for lithium batteries, for example. In addition, false cargo declarations on shipments of lithium batteries constitute a real risk and a lethal threat. Clearly we are not safe from a future disaster – on a passenger plane. A lot of modern consumer goods use lithium batteries as a power source (mobile phones, laptops, toys, electric bikes, etc.), and their number is constantly increasing – with a similar increase in the number of batteries transported and the risk of explosion or fire. Currently, the regulations on transporting lithium remain extremely opaque – and what’s more, they’re very complicated and are specific to the type of shipment. Incidents are becoming increasingly common, proving that communication and training are not sufficient on this specific topic. While it now seems absolutely essential that all stakeholders monitor the situation extremely closely in order to keep up to date with developments to local, national and international regulations for each method of transport, it is above all crucial that the aviation industry’s leading bodies all over the world urgently implement provisions to bolster flight safety – and make safety mandatory. After all, if we take a closer look... The first difficulty: the technical complexity. Batteries? Cells? Lithium ion batteries? Lithium metal batteries? Packaged or unpackaged, in a device or outside it? Each case has its own regulations. The second difficulty: access to information. Categorised as “Dangerous goods”, their transport is regulated by the ICAO Chicago Convention, Annex 18 (if you want to read it, you’ll need to buy it from the ICAO store) and the technical instructions for the safe transport of dangerous goods by air (which you’ll also need

Tiphaine Guelou &

Audrey Serdjebi

to buy: Doc 9284). Failing that, you can try to compile the multitude of Addenda and other Corrigenda, as well as all the working documents from various groups of experts. Good luck with that. Another source of information is the Lithium Battery Shipping Guidelines (LBSGs). According to IATA, this manual (which you’ll also need to buy) contains “all the information manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, freight forwarders and others in the supply chain need to ensure compliance when shipping lithium batteries”. The third difficulty: the many layers of regulations. Take all the international, European, regional and state regulations, add the various directives, laws, instructions and recommendations, then multiply the total by the number of stakeholders – and what you get is truly labyrinthine complexity thanks to fragmentation of the regulations. The result, along with low standards, is reduced safety and security – for passengers, of course, but also for air cargo staff (handlers, pilots, crew members, and more). The consequences could be tragic. From the property viewpoint as well, the damage could be considerable (with both goods and aircraft lost). How many accidents will it take before the international authorities react and acknowledge the scale of the danger? “Will it take 300 lives for the civil aviation authorities to react?,” to quote the civil society petition that has been posted online to call for the implementation of safer regulations governing the transport of lithium batteries on commercial flights. Faced with the dangers represented by air transport of lithium batteries from a human and economic viewpoint, now is the time to act. Regulations should be strict, clear, accessible and standardised. And above all, international organisations and governments should commit to ensuring the safety of people and property. This petition could be game-changing, and we wanted to share it with you. You can access it via https://bit.ly/33QSX5b. Implement safer regulation for lithium batteries in commercial flights. And all cargo stakeholders should sign it!

Lemon Queen is an airfreight industry public relations and communications agency in Paris, France

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