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Lufthansa Cargo freighter named Marhaba Egypt A Lufthansa Cargo MD-11F freighter now bears the name “Marhaba Egypt” and will carry this message with it around the world. The aircraft with registration D-ALCF received its name at Cairo International Airport from the Egyptian Director of Civil Aviation, Hani Al-Adawy, the German Ambassador to Egypt, Julius Georg Luy and Sören Stark, Lufthansa Cargo board member Operations. The eventful ceremony featured a classic water salute from the Cairo International Airport fire brigade. The aircraft’s name “Marhaba Egypt” underscores Egypt’s role as an important market in air freight transport. In a statement Sören Stark said, “The greeting ‘Marhaba Egypt’ stands for the close connection between Lufthansa Cargo and Egypt. We are proud of being so well positioned in this key market with more than a dozen passenger and three freighter flights per week.”
Lufthansa Cargo and Cathay Pacific now under one roof As a key milestone step of the joint business agreement (JBA) between Lufthansa Cargo and Cathay Pacific Cargo, which was announced in May, Europe’s largest air cargo carrier has moved its local freight handling into the Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal (CPCT) in Hong Kong. The move, which took effect on 1 October, benefits customers of both carriers, with one single location for export drop-off and import delivery arrangements. As part of the JBA, both cargo carriers are working closely together on network planning, as well as sales, IT and service enhancements, and plan to transport the first shipment under the cooperation framework from February 1, 2017 – initially from Hong Kong to Europe. The ability to also book eastbound shipments from Europe to Hong Kong will then follow in 2018. “We are very pleased to share a handling location in Hong Kong. There will be many advantages for our customers and it represents an important milestone for the start of our partnership at the beginning of the year,” said Peter Gerber, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of Lufthansa Cargo.
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Emirates SkyCargo brings Onam closer to home for Keralites For many Keralites celebrating Onam in the Gulf region this year, Emirates SkyCargo brought in a special flavor from home. Earlier in September, the cargo carrier deployed three dedicated freighter flights, two from Thiruvananthapuram and one from Kochi, transporting more than 288 tonnes of perishables to the Middle East especially for the Onam celebrations in the region. The perishables uplifted exclusively by Emirates SkyCargo included all kinds of vegetables, different varieties of fruits including bananas and banana leaves. These fruits and vegetables are important ingredients for the Onam Sadhya – a vegetarian banquet served on fresh banana leaves during the festival. While the majority of the shipment was headed to Dubai, the perishables also reached other destinations in the Gulf region including Bahrain, Doha, Kuwait, Dammam, Muscat and Jeddah. Emirates SkyCargo has witnessed a steady growth in the export of cargo from Kerala over the years. In FY 2015-16, the carrier helped export over 29,000 tonnes of cargo, a growth of 8.7 per cent from FY 2014-15.
Radical pharma-logistics collaboration initiative announced at AirPharma TEAM-UP is a pharmalogistics initiative expressly designed to inspire the mutual understanding, common procedures and universal climate of trust that are prerequisites for the creation of sustainable, fully-integrated supply chains. Speaking at the IATA AirPharma Conference in Brussels on October 12, 2016, TEAM-UP founder Alan Kennedy stressed the urgent need for greater integration of the pharma-logistics supply chain: “With the huge challenges it is facing, the pharmaceutical logistics sector faces a very uncertain future unless it is prepared to abandon its traditional silo thinking and practices in favour of a more collaborative approach. The advent of the TEAM-UP integration framework will help accelerate the changes needed and open the doors to faster, more equitable, more systematic supply chain integration. There is no longer any excuse for inertia.”