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30/06/2021 12:41

The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals No. 1,139

5 JULY 2021

RIX CARGO CITY: READY FOR TAKE OFF

Page 8

The appointment reflects the importance of cargo to the IAG Group, following a strong 2020

SHEPHERD’S THE MAN FOR IAG CARGO (AGAIN)

Podolsky said: “As we build on the success of 2020, we are excited to be welcoming David back who brings a wealth of experience. David will lead all aspects of our business in close collaboration with me, in this vital time in aviation. The past year has shown just how essential air cargo is for industries around the world and this appointment reflects the importance of cargo in the group.” Shepherd, who will be re-joining IAG Cargo when he takes up his role on August 1 2021, said: “I am delighted to be returning to IAG Cargo working closely with David and the wider cargo team at this time of unprecedented change as we look to expand and further transform our cargo offering.”

AG Cargo, the cargo division of International Airlines Group (IAG) has appointed David Shepherd as managing director. Shepherd, who is joining from Aer Lingus, is well known in the industry having previously held a variety of leadership roles at IAG Cargo including the positions of commercial director and director of digital ventures. Shepherd will report to David Podolsky, who will continue in his role as chief executive of the business, having served in the interim role since April 2021. The bolstering of the IAG Cargo executive team, reflects the growing importance of cargo within the group. In 2020 the business delivered exceptional results, amid a challenging economic and capacity environment, reporting commercial revenues of €1,306 million over the period from January 1 to December 31 2020, an increase of 18.5% on 2019 at constant currency.

STOP PRESS:

IAG Cargo partners with K+N and Neste to launch first net zero carbon charter chain - More next week

INSIDE

WEBCARGO VISTA GOES LIVE

A year of unprecedented shifts in global freight’s pace and volatility has changed shippers expectations of forwarder customer ... PAGE 2

AVEM AERO HITS A MILESTONE

AVEM AERO made its 10th flight to war-ravaged Libya. The air charter company delivers cargo to Tripoli, Mitiga, and Benghazi ... PAGE 2 UNILODE, LATAM EXTEND PARTNERSHIP

LATAM Cargo and Unilode Aviation Solutions have extended their ULD management partnership for a further seven-year term until ... PAGE 4

SILK WAY WEST GAINS GDP

BAKU-based Silk Way West Airlines has been awarded Good Distribution Practice (GDP) certification. To further improve the company’s ... PAGE 4

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NEWS

AVEM AERO HITS A MILESTONE OF 10TH FLIGHT TO LIBYA

AVEM AERO made its 10th flight to war-ravaged Libya. The air charter company delivers cargo to Tripoli, Mitiga, and Benghazi airports. AVEM AERO started to fly to Libya in April 2021 and has already made 11 flights that carried 12,496 tonnes of products, pharmaceutical, and dangerous goods cargo there.

GEODIS achieves “Investors in People” accreditation across Asia Pacific

RECENT efforts in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC) by GEODIS have resulted in Investors in People (IIP) accreditation in 12 locations in which GEODIS operates. GEODIS has seen its activities accredited in Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. With a detailed structure of nine key indicators, the criteria of which have been developed over 30 years, IIP accreditation is recognised in 66 countries around the world. Companies

must achieve proven set levels of performance in three well-defined areas of personnel management: Leading, Supporting and Improving. “The IIP key indicators of performance are very much aligned with our own seven corporate ‘Golden Rules’ and seven ‘Leadership Principles’,” explains Anne Tan, head of human resources, APAC for GEODIS. “Leading and inspiring our people by engaging and empowering them to take ownership of the performance is critical,” said Tan.

Only three private companies fly to the region after two IL-76s were destroyed there in a drone attack at Al-Jufra Airbase in 2019. “When flying to territories with high risks of a terrorist attack, it’s vital to never cross the safety line,” says Nikolay Kurbanov, AVEM AERO’s managing director. “We are an urgent

cargo charter company carrying cargoes of food and medication. We provide one of a few ways to deliver healthy food to thе сountry. We see it as a kind of social mission that others cannot do for some reason. It’s difficult but was handled successfully.” The company works only with airports under the control of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), with special insurance for each risk and increased measures of safety. For example, a crew never stays for a night and the company never announces a flight in advance. AVEM AERO will continue to fly in Libya “proving its ability to work out risks that Kurbanov considers as a difference of the company supporting the airline’s portfolio of special cargo services.” Libya has been torn by violence since longtime ruler Colonel Gaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011 by Nato-backed forces. Its population is almost 7M people according to the United Nations. AVEM AERO OU was founded in 2018 by Kurbanov, who has a vast experience in the sector of “go now” aircraft charters.

Medexi moves into Brucargo zone BRUSSELS Airport is continuing to invest in its logistics zone Brucargo, where it took delivery of a new building accommodating 4,000m² of warehousing and office space. The building will become the home base of Medexi, a joint venture by several established companies in the pharmaceutical industry. An independent Pharma Service Centre, Medexi will take care of the packaging, storage, transhipment and delivery of medical products. With this new centre, the offer and expertise at Brussels Airport is further expanded. “The transportation of pharmaceuticals is one of the specialisations of Brussels Airport. In our logistics zone we already had over 30,000 sq m of temperature-controlled warehouses aimed at these shipments and today, with the new Pharma Service Centre, we’re adding an extra 2,400 sq m. That these three partners are joining forces to put their expertise at the disposal of all parties involved in pharmaceuticals transport is a nice addition to the current offer at Brucargo,” says Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport Company.

“Within Medexi, we bring together our long-standing niche market expertise thus strengthening the pharmaceuticals logistics chain and the position of Brussels Airport as the pharma gateway by excellence of Europe. An independent Pharma Service Centre we can support all partners, from international forwarders to small research labs and big pharmaceutical corporations,” explains Tom Heymans, co-founder of Medexi.

WebCargo Vista goes live

year of unprecedented shifts in global freight’s pace and volatility has changed shippers expectations of forwarder customer service. In response, WebCargo, a Freightos Group company, has launched WebCargo Vista. This best-of-breed digital freight rate management and online freight sales portal taps into over a decade of freight tech experience to improve sales and communication efficiency for forwarders. WebCargo Vista is unique in its combination of multimodal rate management with a leading pricing, booking and management platform, enabling over 90% of customer bookings to be conducted without a phone call or email. Together with powerful TMS integrations, this unlocks fully digital customer service and sales.

ACW 5 JULY 2021

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Recent research shows that only 25% of top freight forwarders currently offer accessible online booking. WebCargo Vista leverages Freightos Group’s industry-leading multimodal routing and pricing algorithm, proven across tens of thousands of shippers large and small. It enables forwarders to manage their services online through a branded sales portal connected directly to their rate management systems. “Innovation is essential to meet our customers’ future demands,” said Mr. Yasuyuki Takahashi, CIO of Yusen Logistics, who recently launched Yusen Vantage Focus Quote and Book. “Through WebCargo Vista’s technology, we can support the rapid results and efficient management of international freight

forwarding, demanded by the current climate.” “Any questions about the need for scalable digital freight forwarder customer service went out the door in 2020,” said Manel Galindo, CEO of WebCargo. “Vista enables forwarders to easily sell online – with 80% of bookings accepted in under two minutes – while seamlessly managing and communicating throughout the entire process.” QATAR Airways has launched its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner passenger aircraft on a number of key routes to Europe and Asia, starting with its Doha to Milan service last month. The aircraft will service routes such as Athens, Barcelona and Dammam.

NEWS

Speedwolfe: Carpe diem ACW Profile

f ever there was a corporate motto penned for Speedwolfe it has to be Carpe Diem, described as making the most of the present time and giving little thought to the future. Speedwolfe is a London-based GSA run by Simon Wolfe and Richard Hartmann, with a combined 64 years’ experience in the air cargo industry. Meeting the two in their air-conditioned, modern office near London Heathrow on one of the hottest days of the year, there is clear evidence that Wolfe and Hartmann are not discouraged by any siren voices that would say, perhaps, that July, 2020 was not the best year to launch an airfreight operation. Now almost a year later, both share a quiet satisfaction that the gamble has paid off. So much so that they are looking to make a new hire within the month. Both men work very well together, perhaps as a result of a joint support of Chelsea FC. Or it might be the decades each has enjoyed in airfreight action both in the UK and abroad. Hartmann had been intended for a career in a professional kitchen until dissatisfaction with catering college led him to an internship with an African freight operator, the start of a life-time career to date in airfreight. Wolfe is at least the second generation of freight as he comes from a family of freight people. He hopes that his children will follow in his footsteps one day. The passion of the two men for the company, which is a member of the Federation Of Airline GSAs (FAGSA), is clear and Wolfe sums it up as innovation and passion and never saying “no” to business opportunities. This has driven them to have an incredible ride in the first year of operations. During this time, the company established flights from Bournemouth to JFK as they became the first GSA for A340-600 ad-hoc charters for Bournemouth, UK-based European Aviation. The men also follow an idea that the development of Speedwolfe is about a direction of travel that is “niche by innovation.” This is why, for instance, they are now working with Uzbekistan Airlines B-767F and Sri Lankan virtual airline FITS Aviation. It operates scheduled passenger service within Sri Lanka, as well as international narrow-bodied cargo flights to several cities in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa and also operates charter flights to India as well. They also have weekly consolidation services to TLV in line with their Dutch GSA partners, with the champagne about to be smashed on the hull of a new carrier, launching down the slips, very soon.

Why start a GSA in the depths of a global pandemic? Because it is an opportunity to make the most of a situation that is not permanent and could lead to a great future.

is in discovering different business cultures around the globe and what makes the airfreight industry tick in all four corners of the world. Wolfe’s formative years were running an international wholesale and consolidation business for British Midland Cargo, named ICM, developing an overseas agency network; he also ran Varig and Sri Lankan Cargo at LHR. The legacy of this is a 1.5m model of a Varig DC-10 from the 1970s that adorns their London office. More recently he was working in Los Angeles with Cii/American West Agencies, wholesale division, securing the GEFCO US Agency programme. For five years he was commercial director with Airspace Aviation, converting the Silkways account and growing the DELTA Cargo account, under the VS/DL joint venture Alliance. Harmann’s portfolio spans 12 years with Panalpina, including working in South Africa, where he procured the Atlas Air freighter deal for Panalpina, South Africa, on an ACMI basis.

The men who ignored the pandemic: Simon Wolfe (left) and Richard Hartmann More recently, 11 years with American Airlines, where he was responsible for the carriers GSA networks in their EMEA regions.

New business At a time when many airlines are in survival mode, the two men are still keen to search out new business from prospective carriers. The days when a carrier would simply issue a tender for GSA services are past. Now Speedwolfe and other GSAs must offer airlines reasons to make appointments in markets. This is why Wolfe and Hartmann have embraced the concept of offering Total Cargo Management (TCM) services. In a world of preighters, airlines are still there to be found it is just now down to the GSA to do the hunting. New airlines are being launched at present despite the pandemic conditions and these are on Speedwolfe’s radar. A recent new business trawl by the two men saw some 70 carriers canvassed, with positive results as the seeds fell, not on stony ground but on soil too.

Never over-promise When a company is in start-mode, it is all too easy not to turn down work, or to over-promise on what can be delivered. From the start, the men have made it a matter to never over-promise clients what they can deliver. Both men like the travel aspect of the aviation industry, Wolfe’s brother was a commercial pilot, formerly with Bmi, latterly with Air Tanker, but Wolfe prefers more grounded machines, being a petrol head himself, with Hartmann’s interest

ACW 5 JULY 2021

NEWS

Unilode and LATAM extend partnership LATAM Cargo and Unilode Aviation Solutions have extended their ULD management partnership for a further seven-year term until 2028. LATAM Cargo and Unilode signed their initial management and repair agreement in 2016. As part of the newly-extended agreement, Unilode will open a new ULD repair shop in São Paulo, Brazil, by January 2022, and provide digital services and sensory data to LATAM Cargo and its customers. In line with Unilode’s IoT-enabled, customer-centric approach, Unilode will continue to deliver significant ULD efficiencies and cost savings to LATAM Cargo, and enhanced analytical solutions including a customer dashboard will further optimise LATAM’s operations.

Juan Pablo Marquez, operational support director, LATAM Cargo, said: “Unilode has constantly met our expectations over the years, and supported our airline group with continuous service delivery during the current pandemic, including LATAM’s vaccine distribution projects across Latin America. “Unilode’s ULD supply has enabled LATAM to continue its operations during these challenging times and the transition to more durable and lighter containers will provide our company with significant sustainability benefits. We are pleased to grow together with our trusted ULD management partner as the aviation industry continues its recovery following the Covid19 crisis.” Babak Yazdani, managing director ULD

Solutions, Unilode, said: “LATAM Cargo is one of Unilode’s largest ULD management customers and a strategic account in our portfolio as its footprint in Latin America and worldwide network provide substantial synergies in Unilode’s global ULD pool for the benefit of our customers as well. “We are highly committed to strengthening our partnership by opening an additional repair shop, generating unprecedented insights and visibility for LATAM through our digital solutions, and delivering recurring efficiencies and cost savings facilitated by a dedicated customer success management team. Our goal is to enable LATAM to deliver revenue generating opportunities provided by Unilode’s ULD management, repair and digital solutions in the years to come.”

Qatar Cargo introduces WebCargo in Europe

QATAR Airways Cargo has announced that WebCargo by Freightos will be introduced across most of the European region effective June 30 2021. Forwarders will be able to conduct eBookings with access to live rates and available capacity on the WebCargo platform. With the implementation of WebCargo across Europe, the total count of countries in the airline’s network on the platform will increase to 32. Qatar Airways chief officer cargo, Guillaume Halleux, said: “We are glad to further roll out the third-party eBooking platform, WebCargo throughout Europe, as we aim to provide digital connectivity for our customers and extend digitalisation across our operations. “This will bring in more efficiencies in the supply chain and provide multiple benefits for our customers. Our aim is to gradually roll out WebCargo throughout our global network during the year, providing convenience and transparency to our customers.”

DAC global adoption Zvi Schreiber, CEO Freightos Group added: “We are so proud to have partnered with Qatar Airways Cargo, the world’s number one cargo airline, on driving global Digital Air Cargo (DAC) adoption. “The hypergrowth of our eBookings in the last few months (up 1,000% year on year) has proven that forwarders are very keen to adopt real-time pricing, capacity, and eBookings, particularly in today’s volatile market. “Ultimately, this allows them to deliver better air cargo to importers/exporters. With today’s significant expansion of our partnership with Qatar Airways Cargo, we are excited to drive a further acceleration of digital air cargo bookings in Europe.”

ACW 5 JULY 2021

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Silk Way West gains GDP BAKU-based Silk Way West Airlines has been awarded Good Distribution Practice (GDP) certification. To further improve the company’s capacity in reliably handling time and temperature sensitive cargo, the carrier has successfully completed an

in depth GDP audit by Global Cold Chain Consultants. Being GDP certified, Silk Way West Airlines now intends to extend its product line in transportation of medical goods and pharmaceutical logistics services. Silk Way West Airlines’ internal procedures have been upgraded in accordance with GDP principles, and the company’s entire staff has been appropriately trained. The carrier also conducted a thermal mapping of its fleet and the extensive temperature-controlled storage facilities at its main hub in Baku to ensure the integrity of these processes. “Obtaining the GDP certification proves the readiness of Silk Way West Airlines in taking a leading role in global distribution of medical supplies,” said Wolfgang Meier, CEO and president of Silk Way West Airlines, emphasising the importance of this achievement in entering the pharmaceutical logistics market.

CHARTER BROKERS

Cargo charters: A long term solution?

emand for cargo charters has taken off these past 16 months. It started off as an effective way to satisfy the capacity demand with pax aircraft grounded, but could cargo charters now be a viable long term alternative to scheduled freighter and belly hold capacity? “The demand for charters has changed significantly. While it begun as ad hoc requests, these have turned into requests for medium to long term solutions,” explained Ian Hutchinson, chief commercial officer, HAE. “Our customers see HAE as a provider who can help them commercialise unused space, thus Kronenberger help them reduce risk associated with longer term commitment.” “More and more multi-national freight forwarders have decided to manage their own freighter capacity via “scheduled” charters, especially on the key global tradelanes,” Hutchinson added. This is exactly what global giants, GEODIS have done with their new AirDirect service. “GEODIS AirDirect provides air freight service to our clients by contracting freighters to operate within our Own Controlled Network,” said Joe Kronenberger, senior vice president of air product, freight forwarding at GEODIS in Americas. “Ultimately, this means we control the aircraft and do not have to rely on scheduled

commercial uplift. In 2020, we increased our AirDirect services to assist customers with urgent shipments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because more than 50% of airfreight is transported via cargo holds of passenger planes, this was in response to industry shortages as capacity plummeted when flights were cancelled. “AirDirect offers a solution to ensure we can provide a reliable, consistent schedule to help provide safe transport of cargo from major destinations across continents to fill the need for capacity. The Own Controlled Network option via AirDirect allows us to ensure seamHutchinson less end-to-end delivery through consistent monitoring and control of all shipments. “We have seen significant demand for AirDirect for clients within pharma, PPE and medical equipment as well as vaccine delivery to fill the urgent need for capacity,” he added.

lenge has been flight pattern scheduling and optimisation. “The unpredictable nature of the pandemic has meant that we must monitor and flexibly adjust routes to best meet the demand. For example, when we first introduced our full aircraft charter arrangement on the route between China to Europe in March 2020, it was on an ad hoc basis. “We then transitioned to a weekly timetable in June 2020 to meet the urgent need for air cargo capacity, which had diminished due to the effects of the pandemic. As we progressed further into the pandemic, we added a permanent schedule that is now extending into 2021 and beyond. This required diligent monitoring to ensure we were best meeting demand on behalf of our clients.

Long term solution? “One would expect charter demand to decline as capacity returns,” commented Hutchinson. “However, there will always be charter demand. The shape and profile will no doubt change, but our global profile exposes us to different opportunities, which we expect to help us keep a good amount of charter momentum, well into 2022.” “While we expanded AirDirect as a direct result of tightened capacity during the pandemic, it is a strategic investment for GEODIS,” confirmed Kronenberger. “This is a prime example of how we constantly refine our services in response to the dynamic market forces to best support our customers’ growth.”

Unchartered waters “As with all new business endeavours, there are always unexpected challenges when implementing a product or service. In this case, the biggest challenge associated with launching AirDirect was securing the availability of the aircrafts as capacity, in general, was scarce. Kronenberger noted that an ongoing chal-

WE at Aero-Africa have come up with a business model that will allow for sustained growth on the regional freighter service, the key factor is having an operator & partner who is committed to running a schedule without delays or skipping a weekly rotation. The model is based on a three-phase roll out which would be implemented second half of 2021 with focus on Indian Ocean islands and Southern Africa, then moving westwards towards Harare, Lusaka and Lubumbashi by first quarter 2022. The third phase would be Windhoek and Walvis bay second quarter 2022. Christos Spyrou CEO + Founder, Aero-Africa

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The future of Nordic seafood air logistics

CW tuned in to The Future of Norwegian Seafood Air Logistics event at the beginning of June to gain insight into the growing and changing market of Nordic seafood logistics. Martin Langaas, Avinor; Ivar Raugstad, Mowi Markets Norway AS; Max Knagge, SAS Cargo; Rob Veltman, Qatar Airways Cargo; Jonathan Celetaria, AirBridgeCargo Airlines; Chris Jaabäk, Air Cargo Logistics AS; and Trond Örjan Olsen, DHL Global Forwarding spoke on the panel about supply chains and network requirements. “Three key topics were covered: How to secure air freight capacity in the future; gateway hub optimisation and efficiency; and assessing the effects of COVID-19 on the industry.

Capacity challenges Rob Veltman described the challenges that carriers faced throughout the pandemic whilst serving Norway. “Being a mixed carrier, both passenger and freighter, we were able to put a steady schedule together to the region but now passenger lift is picking up there is a different dynamic,” he explained. “What you see now predominantly is that passengers are travelling to mainly leisure destinations and those are not necessarily cargo dominanted markets and demand on the passenger side is still very volatile. “We have to make choices: where do we pull preighters to serve passenger needs and can we somehow compensate that within the network? At present we are serving the Norweigan market with six passenger freighters

a week and for us the decision to serve this market is still okay. But it is a matter of supply and demand as to where we can allocate the planes. “Our plan is to serve the Norwegian market as we did before. Norwegians are keen travellers, so as long as the Norwegian people start travelling heavily it will be positive.” Langaas asked that with the increased importance on cargo, will freight play a bigger role in influencing which route airline’s may restart, something that before was mostly influenced by passenger demand? “It depends on the load factors on the passenger side,” said Veltman. “If they go above 70%, I think our passenger colleagues decide where the plane will go because we can never make up for that kind of revenue. “If it is lower and we need to make a trade off, cargo has an important contribution to still operating those flights. At the moment, all of the passenger flights that we are operating are in the air because of cargo because we can partly compensate for the loss of revenue from passengers.” Oslo Airport the past few years has been the most freighter heavy airport in Northern Europe, with up to 12 daily freighter flights with seafood, Langaas noted. Despite this, the recognition of air cargo in regard to the seafood industry is increasing. Will the industry be able to keep that position going forward? “People have short memories unfortunately,” said Celetaria. “I hope people’s mindset in terms of cargo importance has changed. The seafood market in Norway is very sensitive, the whole supply chain is very sensitive. You need staff at all links in the supply chain to be fully

trained to ensure the integrity of the seafood.” “The seafood industry, at least from Norway,has been spoiled with a lot of capacity but now some will be released and used for passengers instead. “There have been changes in the market dynamics and from an airline perspective it has been about optimsing and balancing the two revenue streams,” said Knagge. “COVID19 has affected where airlines are flying but everything we’re flying long haul is driven by cargo. Positively, we’re resuming our Oslo/USA flight, which is driven by demand for seafood.”

Collaboration is key for optimisation Norway is attractive to cargo stakeholders especially as the Norwegian seafood market has seen growth despite challenging market conditions. Norway exported seafood worth NOK 8.6 billion (£0.73 billion) in April. This is an increase of NOK 338 million (£28.5 million), or 4%, compared with April last year. Langaas asked the panel their opinion of investing in cold chain facilties at Oslo Airport to make the hub attractive to stakeholders. “For Oslo, as an airport, and Norway, as a seafood exporting country, we definitely need to be able to show the world we have a transparent supply chain. It doesn’t help if we have good traceability for the product if we are not able to give the same traceability to the whole value chain to China, South Africa or the USA,” said Raugstad. “Customers are demanding visbility in the supply chain, what the seafood has been fed, how it’s been transported, the carbon foot-

Two minutes with Fredrik Wildtgrube, vice president, Finnair Cargo

ACW: Finnair recently joined WebCargo. How has this been received by customers so far? Fredrik Wildtgrube: Launching the cooperation with Web Cargo is an example of Finnair Cargo’s ambition to bring new experiences to customers. It is especially exciting that we can continue to invest in customer experience, even during challenging times. We have received a positive welcome and we believe this to be the result of a great product and cooperative communication into our sales channels regarding the launch of WebCargo.

ACW 5 JULY 2021

ACW: How has the airline been involved in vaccine transportation so far? Wildtgrube: Even before the vaccines were ready we set up a taskforce to prepare us in case of transport requests. We learned a lot of the transport requirements and we were confident that our capabilities were more than adequate to answer to the transportation needs. Based upon Finnair Cargo capabilities we have been participating in vaccine transports. However, we have decided not to comment any data of these transports out of security reasons.

ACW: How is Finnair Cargo adapting to the capacity constraints that are affecting the industry? Wildtgrube: We are working closely with our customers and created a flexible operating model that we can adjust according to demand. Through our working model with our customers we have been able to smoothen out their logistics challenges, which we are very proud of. During the pandemic our customer feedback has been high, strongly signalling that our actions in pandemic times have been correct. Building upon this

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print. The focus now is the core temperature of the product, the integrity of what they are buying and that the proper cool chain has been maintained. In terms of collaboration towards this in Oslo, I think we are paddling in different directions and that’s what we need to sort out.”

Secondary hub development Oslo Airport is Norway’s main cargo hub for seafood but the viability of a second hub in the North of the country is an idea that is up for serious consideration. “I believe we can do it but we can’t do it alone,” said Trong. “I think there would be a huge benefit of having flights to the North. Routes like North Norway into China could be a good solution to take the pressure off Oslo. “From North Norway it takes two or three days trucking into Oslo, so this produce effectively loses that time. “I think there is volume to cover these new flights and also interest from the airlines. However, there needs to be more commitment from the airlines to support this capacity and to invest in these hubs. With more hubs you can choose to fly to more destinations in Asia and also the USA.” Knagge added: “There are some common themes in all our inputs, and one is the need for closer cooperations. “Another common theme is around sustainability, this is a topic in which we need to look at the competition and across the whole value chain to obtain a significant change and in the end it’s a business and money at the end that needs to come into play.”

we are certainly looking forward to creating post pandemic a “new normal” together with our customers. ACW: The balance of pax/ freighter capacity will change with the increase of passenger flights but what are your predictions for this returning to normality? Wildtgrube: We have been making the best possible use of COVID-19 time and are already fully prepared to start flying in larger numbers. As cargo we have been having considerable traffic even during the pandemic and we have been happy to provide solutions to our customers and to keep many Finnair personnel employed. We hope

to see a start of the passenger return during summer 2021 and then gradually grow.

Scandinavia

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT

hen Sweden’s economy is growing. Despite huge economic repercussions of the pandemic, the Nordic country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.1% in Q1 2021, according to Statistics

Sweden. This figure reinforces evidence that suggests Sweden is recovering from the economic effects of COVID faster than the rest of the Europe. Sweden’s airports are a key part of this recovery. “Sweden is the largest exporter in Scandinavia and Swedish industry is export driven,” explained Ylva Arvidsson, cargo director, Swedavia. “Exports stand for 44% of the Swedish GDP. The most important export goods are all of a nature expected to be in strong demand also in the future.” Following the trend of the rest of the world, Sweden has seen a huge boom in e-Commerce, with an increase of 40% in 2020 compared to 2019, which Arvidsson noted is an important and increasing part of air freight in the country.

However, supply chain disruptions were inevitable and the knock-on effects of neighbouring lockdowns still created challenging situations for those in the logistics industry. But in challenges, there are many lessons to be learnt. “I’ve learned that co-operation and sharing of knowledge is even more important than before in order to find solutions for unexpected situations,” said Arvidsson. “My impression is that environmental issues are even higher on company agendas. The airport operations that Swedavia runs under its own management at our ten airports are now completely fossil-free.”

Attractive to cargo stakeholders “Sweden ranks at the top of the most trade-friendly and logistically efficient nations in the world,” said Arvidsson, which makes the country particularly attractive to cargo stakeholders. “Sweden’s logistics sector has become one of the most capable in Europe. “All major cities in Sweden, Denmark and Norway are accessible from Sweden in less than 12 hours. This makes Sweden the preferred choice when companies consolidate distribution and warehousing activities in Northern Europe to one central location,” she explained. “Stockholm is Europe’s third biggest hub for global headquarters of which foreign companies account for 85%. Also, it is the largest corporate market and financial hub in the Nordics.”

Cargo in the spotlight The pandemic thrust cargo into the spotlight and has prompted many airports and airlines to realign their cargo passenger balance and invest in cargo infrastructure, and Swedish airports have been no different. “Indeed air cargo has been more focused during the pandemic both within our company and outside,” explained Arvidsson. “Airport City Göteborg, at Göteborg Landvetter Airport, is a new logistics area being is developed at a high pace. Within a short period of time Logistics Park 1 has been developed, with a total of 150 000 sq m large, modern and efficient warehouses and logistics buildings. DB Schenker moved to the area earlier and during 2020 we have four companies moving in to their new establishments.” “We are developing a Logistic City at Stockholm-Arlanda Airport which consists of an area of 600 000 to 850 000 sqm for air cargo, logistics, skilled trades and motorway services between the airport and the highway. We are also analysing the long term establishment and expansion of the current cargo area with airside/landside access. “Swedavia and Norrland Spedition & Transportation AS are cooperating on a project aiming to start freighter flights from Luleå Airport in the northern part of Sweden. “There is a demand from the seafood industry in the northern part of Norway to open up a new gateway with fast connections to the largest markets. “The intention is to start this fall with a couple of flights per week and then to further increase the number of frequencies.”

Lessons learnt Although there have been rules in place, Sweden notably opted for a no lockdown response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

ACW 5 JULY 2021

RIX CARGO CITY: READY FOR TAKE OFF A

s the largest airport in the Baltic States, Riga International Airport is well positioned to be the cargo gateway into the Baltics.

a dedicated area for cargo,” Jentkus explained.

The second part of the development is the new logistics terminal for DHL, which It is particularly popular with will be finished freight forwarders due to its locathis year. The tion between the EU, CIS and Asia third is a new and because of the multimodal multimodal transport corridors that pass cargo terminal through the territory of Latvia in all funded by multidirections, from East to West and ple developers. from North to South. “We moved Eligijus Jentkus, head of aviation DHL, FedEx, cargo development at Riga InterNATO and national Airport told ACW how the military cargo airport has been setting the founflights to this dations for future cargo growth. area. Right now, this new cargo “RIX Cargo City, located at the apron is full North of the airport has been a every day. major investment for us,” Jentkus said. “Last year we also published The cargo city consists of three the tender for parts. The first is the cargo apron, leasing land which was completed last year by with the purpose of building a the airport authority. new warehouse. Air Baltic’s subsidiary company, Baltic Cargo Centre “It was quite challenging, but want the tender and within two last year we finished the cargo years they will be building a new apron, which can handle three terminal.” wide-bodied aircraft. It has an underground fuelling system and A good investment it is in the northern area of the Jentkus explained that the airport where we have warehouses and the customs office. This is now investment in the cargo infra-

structure was decided before the pandemic, and it has proved to be a more than worthwhile investment as cargo has taken centre stage. “Passenger flights during the pandemic were severely restricted here but e-Commerce and postal shipments have increased our cargo operations. So, where we lost belly cargo, we increased dedicated cargo.

for this speed and convenience, especially for medical cargo.”

High demand

Through the investment in RIX Cargo City, Jentkus believes a heavy emphasis will be put on cargo operations, upping the dedicated cargo that passes through the Airport. This includes pharma. “Two years ago I raised the question of starting the process of gaining CEIV certification, as in Riga we have two big pharma companies. I started consultations with IATA and our local stakeholders but due to the pandemic the issue has been postponed until next year.”

“Dedicated cargo requires different space at the airport and has different needs. With belly Developments are on-going in cargo you may other areas of the airport as well. extract 4-5 tonnes from the aircraft “As well as RIX Cargo City we also but with dedicated have the business park project, cargo it may be 40-50 which should be finished this year tonnes, so it’s completely different.” and a new passenger terminal being built of more than 30,000 sq Jentkus noted that the panm,” Jentkus said. demic has changed trends with forwarders. “We have space, we have for“Something interesting we found warders and we have demand for the cargo sector. was that before forwarders chose the cheapest mode of transport for “The business is definitely there shipments, now they are choosing by air. Customers are ready to pay for future growth.”

aircargoweek.com